Echoes
by xeunobre
Summary: When Daniel Masters moves unexpectedly he meets Sam Phantom, Amity Park's greatest 'hero' and the Ghost World's greatest enemy. When old enemies stir, he finds himself thrust into the spotlight-as a God. His loyalties tested, the war rages on threatening to end Time itself. Can he stop it or is he too late?
1. Home life

I remember my mother as a kind and compassionate woman. Her flowing blonde hair, and sparkling blue eyes that shone whenever she looked at me; but that's not how everyone else saw her. Everyone else saw her as a monster.

I'm getting too far ahead of myself. Let me back up and tell the hardest story of my life.

I was getting ready for school. I went to a private school called Rutherford High, one of the most elite schools in Wisconsin. We had a dress code of a white shirt with a blue tie, and black pants and jacket. Basically, we have to dress up in little suits each day. My father loved to poke fun at me about it, but I would always laugh and tell him I'd make him wear the monkey suit.

My father knocked at my door, and poked his head in. "Daniel? Breakfast is ready."

"I'm coming, father. Just give me a second to finish wrestling with this monkey suit." I wrapped the tie around my neck, making a huge mess of the knot.

He laughed, walking forward and fixing my tie. "You know, Daniel, you make a mess of this tie every morning. Your mother and I always poke fun at you for it."

"Har har. Laugh it up." I scowled.

"Oh Daniel, you know I'm just kidding." He kissed the top of my head, and I leaned away. What kind of 15-year-old still gets kisses from his father?

I walked over to the mirror, and brushed my hair. My hair always did its own thing, but I still brushed it anyway. It poked up in every direction, so I grabbed some gel and slicked back some of the rough spots.

"You look more and more like me every day." He walked up to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. My father stood tall, his long white hair tied back in a ponytail. His dark blue eyes met my bright blue ones.

I smiled. "Well, I have big shoes to fill."

"Someday you'll take my place at my companies. Vladco and DALV, they're good companies, employing hundreds of people."

I whistled. "I'm not sure if business is my thing, though." I frowned. "I think I'd want to be an astronaut."

His eyebrows raised. "An astronaut? What's brought that on?"

"Father, every night I go outside and I look at the stars. I think about how I can reach them, and our powers help me do that."

He smiled. "I can get in touch with someone who can help you get your foot in the door."

"Thank you, Father. But I think I'll wait. I'm only 15, you know. Plenty of time to grow up before I start being an adult."

"if you insist." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Go get some breakfast, Daniel, or you'll be late to school."

"Alright." I smiled, and walked to the kitchen. Mother was sitting there, and she smiled at me as I walked past.

"Good morning, Daniel." She spoke happily. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing fine, Mother. You're happy this morning."

"I'm always happy when my darling son wakes up before he's late for school, powers or not." She smirked.

I laughed, putting my hands in the air. "You caught me." I grabbed an apple and started eating it.

"Be careful today, okay?" She got to her feet, her long blonde hair falling around her shoulders. She kissed my forehead.

"Mother!" I wiped the lipstick from my forehead.

She laughed. "You know I do it just to mess with you, Daniel."

I hugged her. "Gotta fly, I'm going to be late."

"Do you want me to fly with you?" She asked.

"No, I'll be fine, Mother." I smiled. Two rings formed at my waist, and I changed into my ghost form.

"You know I don't like you doing that in the house, Daniel!" She called as I flew out the window.

I popped my head back into the house, turning intangible as I did so. "You know, we're a house of ghosts, Mother. It's unavoidable." I smirked and flew back out the window again. The sky was a light blue, not a cloud in sight. I flew to the school, my hair flowing behind me.

My ghost form had white hair and green eyes, which was strikingly different from my parents. My father's ghost form had black hair, red eyes, and blue skin. My mother's ghost form had porcelain white skin with long black hair and green eyes. They both had fangs, and told me that someday mine would grow in.

I landed in front of the school, turning back into my human form. I straightened my tie, and ran my hand through my hair. I walked through the front doors, checking my watch. 8:05. Late, of course. I was always late. I walked into the classroom, taking my seat at the front.

"Late again, Mr. Masters?" My teacher mused, looking at me from his glasses. He was a middle-aged man, with receding black hair and a big mustache.

I leaned back into my chair, putting my hands behind my head. "Yep. I'm always late, Mr. Hue."

Mr. Hue scoffed. "One day when you're not late will be the end of my career."

I smirked. Someone put a note in my hand, and I looked at it.

 _Meet behind the bleachers today after school. –L_

I looked over at Lynn. She smiled at me and waved. I waved back at her, and smiled. Lynn Caster was my best friend. Her long brown hair hid her face, but she was pale with honey-brown eyes and freckles across her face. I looked over and met the eyes of Noah Findley. He winked at me, and immediately, I was curious. Why would he be winking at me? I frowned. What the hell was going on?

"Good luck, man." Noah whispered.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Lynn's gonna ask you out, man." He held his fist out for a fist bump. His blonde hair fell into his dark brown eyes.

"What? Since when?"

"Since like, two hours ago." Andrea whispered behind me.

"What? Is this a class discussion now?" I crossed my arms, turning to look at her. "Everyone gotta get into my love life?"

"Duh. It's what we do." Andrea says, her short black hair bouncing as she shrugged. Her brown eyes sparkled micheviously.

"Well, could you stop?"

"Nah, it's too fun." Noah high fives Andrea. "What else is there to do in Gleset? We're not billionaires like you, Masters."

"No, but you guys are rich. Why do I have to pay for everything when we go out?"

"My father only gave me $1,000 for an allowance this week! I'm so broke." She pouts.

"My dad cut me off because I crashed his Porshe last week." Noah scowled.

"You crashed your father's Porshe? Rad, dude. I crashed my father's BMW last month. I got grounded for a week." I whistled. "Father was madder than the time I rerouted our helicopter to get ice cream."

"You have to stay classy." Andrea laughs.

I shrugged. "Just don't do stupid shit and you won't be cut off."

"My family's not as rich as yours, Daniel." Noah says. "We can't be that lucky."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you care about? Money?"

"It makes the world go round." He responds.

"I suppose." Something bothered me about the way he said it, but I shrugged it off. I made a paper airplane, sending it over to Lynn with my response.

 _Only if you're not going to get embarrassed when you ask me out. –D_

I watched her read the note, and watched her blush bright red. I laughed silently to myself. I leaned back into my seat, and went to sleep.

I heard whispering around me a few minutes later.

"Draw a mustache on him."

"No, draw a dick on his forehead."

"Draw a dick from his mouth."

I smirked. "You guys are amatures."

"Who woke him up?" Noah scowled.

"Must've been you!" Andrea slaps his arm. "You were too loud!"

"Both of you are idiots." Heidi rolled her blue eyes. She pushed her blonde hair out of her face.

"They're all idiots." I shrugged. "By the way, the next person who attempts to draw _anything_ on my face will find their nudes leaked to the entire school."

"Damn. You're brutal." Noah whistled. "Point taken."

"How do you think I rule this school with an iron fist, hmm?" I smirked. "All of you are wrapped around my finger."

"You don't need to sound so smug!" Audrey pouts.

"Just letting you know I'm King here." I crossed my arms and yawned. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to tame the mess. The bell rang, and I got up from my chair, stretching. I straightened my tie, pulling on my suit jacket.

Lynn walked up to me and hooked her arm through mine. "You hear Bev and Cooper are dating?"

I laughed. "Since when? Bev is too good for Coop."

"Last week. You know I'm good at catching gossip." She smiled, her honey brown eyes sparkling.

"One of your many talents, my dear." I smiled. She looked away, but I didn't miss her blush. No wonder why she wanted to ask me out. I'm a charmer. We exited the classroom, and out of the building. It was a gorgeous day, this morning had nothing on this afternoon. I wished to morph and fly, but I had to act human.

A limo pulled up and the window rolled down. "Daniel, get in, son."

I frowned. "Father? You never pick me up from school."

"I said, get in." He said, his voice hard.

I was taken aback by the tone of his voice. "Alright." I shrugged. "See you tomorrow, Lynn." I smiled.

"See you, Daniel." She smiled back, unhooking her arm from mine.

I hopped in the limo, to see my father's expression. He looked almost… angry. "Father? What's wrong?"

"Daniel. I've packed your bags for you. We're moving to Amity Park."


	2. Surprises

"What the hell? Why are we moving to Amity Park?" I crossed my arms, scowling.

"Language, Daniel." He looked up at me from the newspaper he was holding. "I will tell you in due time, but you may be able to figure it out yourself."

I looked around. "Where's Mother?"

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce. After what happened after you left, we decided it was best." He sighed.

"What happened this morning?"

"In due time, Daniel. Now, be a dear and fasten your seatbelt."

I hooked my seatbelt together, just as the limo turned into an airplane. I whistled. "Father, this is so cool! How much did this cost?"

"Two million. Hardly a dent." He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Where is Amity Park anyway? Is it a huge metropolis? What's the name of the private school?" I clapped my hands. "Or am I being homeschooled? I wouldn't have to get up at 7 am, and I could wear pjs to my classes—"

"Daniel." He cut me off.

"What?" I turned to look at him, as my gaze had went back to the window from my thoughts.

"You will see soon enough, son. No need to worry." He went back to reading the paper.

I shrugged, leaning on the door. I watched the towns passing by, using my enhanced vision to look at the people at the streets below. Being a half-ghost, I had more enhanced vision and hearing than normal humans did. I was born a half-ghost, just like my mother and father were. Father never explained ghost genes to me, and I never really cared. I guess someday I would, but today wasn't that day. I watched the clouds for a while, and eventually I got bored and pulled out my cellphone. I saw a text from Lynn on the screen.

 **Lynn: Everything ok?**

 **D: No. Father pulled me from Rutherford. Moving to someplace called Amity Park. Don't know where that is.**

 **Lynn: Ouch. Harsh.**

 **D: Yeah. Hopefully I get a good school. My worst nightmare is that it's a public school.**

 **Lynn: Yeah, that would suck. Sorry, Daniel. Wish I could help.**

 **D: 'rents getting a divorce too. Father won't tell me what happened there.**

 **Lynn: Oh god. I'm so sorry, Daniel.**

 **D: Just keep it on the DL, okay? You know Father hates me spreading rumors.**

 **Lynn: You got it. Remember that time that we thought your Mother had an affair and it was just the yoga instructor? Your father was pissed!**

 **D: Yeah, I remember. Wonder if Mother finally hooked up with him. Wait, never mind. I don't want to picture it.**

 **Lynn: That'd be like asking me to picture my Mother with another guy. It would just be weird.**

 **D: Agreed.**

"Daniel, if you're done texting, we're here." Father was looking out the window, at a huge mansion in the distance.

"Woah." I pressed my face against the window. "Did we really need a house this big? It's just you and me, right?"

"Yes, but this time we have human servants. Your mother is not here to clean, so I hired a full crew. So no ghostly powers while we live here."

I scowled. "Father. You know as well as I do, that if we don't use our ghostly powers, they'll build up and be dangerous."

He laughed. "Yes, Daniel. That's why we have an underground lab and training area."

"Sweet!"

The car/plane landed, turning back into a limo. I saw maids waiting for us outside, and I opened the door, jumping out. I stretched my legs, taking a deep breath of the air. I didn't smell any pollution, which was unusual. How far away did we move?

"What do you think, my boy?" He put his hand on my shoulder.

I smiled, looking at him. "Awesome!" I ran in through the doors, leaving them wide open in my haste. I stopped when I saw how big it truly was. "Father? Where's my room?"

"Follow me, my boy." He smiled lightly, walking off up a set of stairs.

I followed him, until we reached a blue door. "Father, what's this? The door's blue!"

"I had a surprise installed for you. Open the door and find out."

I opened the door, it swinging in with a small creak. I flipped the light. The walls were blue, with shooting stars painted down on wall. The rest of the walls had stars on them, and various planets. The bed was king size, with blue drapes hanging over the sides. My mouth dropped open as I looked at the ceiling. The ceiling was completely glass, showing the sky above. "I love it, Father." I hugged him around the waist tightly.

He hugged me back, resting his chin on my head. "I'm glad you like it, my boy. You should go explore the town. Stretch your legs, so to speak. You start school tomorrow morning at Casper High."

"Casper High? Sounds elite. Okay! Bye Father! I'll be back for dinner!" Two rings formed at my waist, and I morphed, my white suit coming back on as I did so.

"You know, I never knew why you don't insist on a cape." Father sighed.

"Capes are lame." I laughed, my ghostly voice echoing as I spoke. "Cya!" I flew out the window, hovering in the air invisibly. I flew out in what I guessed was the direction of town, since there were a lot of lights. I hovered over a building, looking at a sign that read FentonWorks. What was that? Some sort of store?

 _Is that a ghost?_

I looked around me. I heard a woman speaking, but I didn't see anyone around. I shrugged, continuing to fly through downtown. It took me a few minutes to realize I lost invisibility when I saw that sign. I turned invisible, zig zagging through the skyscrapers.

 _What the hell? Where did he go?_

Where the hell was that voice coming from? I looked around again, a scowl forming on my face. I turned visible, so that whoever was speaking could see me.

 _There he is!_

A green burst of energy hit me in the stomach. The wind knocked out of me, and I fell into a rooftop. Ow. What the hell? What shot at me? I looked around, but I still didn't see anyone. I know I wasn't seeing things now. "Who's out there? Show yourself!" My green eyes lit up brighter as I used my senses to try and find my mystery attacker. Both of my hands lit up with red energy.

A ghost landed in front of me. "Who are you? What do you want?" She spoke. She pushed her white hair out of her face, revealing bright red eyes. She pointed a thermos at me. "Answer me before I send you back to the Ghost Zone, punk!"

I laughed, my sides heaving for air. "Wait. You want to send me to the Ghost Zone with a thermos? That's hilarious!" I put my hands on my knees.

"Last chance, ghost! Answer me!"

I stood, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Alright. My name is Daniel Plasmius."

"Alright, Plasmius! Why are you here?"

"Don't call me Plasmius. That's my father. Call me Daniel." I extended my hand forward to shake hers, but she didn't shake my hand.

"Enough with the runarounds! Tell me why you're here!"

I shrugged. "I live here now, I guess. You're tense."

Her hand lit up with green energy, and I shrank back a little. She was trying to be intimidating, which was cute, but the only thing that scared me about her was that her blasts hurt. I sighed, the energy disappearing from my hands. I floated in mid air, trying to see if she was going to try anything. When she didn't, I smirked. "Don't threaten if you're not going to execute, my dear." I blasted her in the chest with a weak ray, and flew home. I was excited to tell Father about the ghostly encounter, since the only ghosts I had ever seen were my parents. I flew in through the window, transforming back to human as I came through. I walked out the door, searching for him.

"Young Master, do you speak English?" A maid came up to me.

I frowned. Of course I spoke English, it was the only language I knew. "Yes." I said, with a fake, thick accent.

The maid blinked, unsure of how to respond. She coughed, and continued. "Your Father is waiting for you at the dinner table."

"Thank you." I said with my fake accent. I walked down the hallway, trying to find the dining room. Instead, I sniffed out my father based on his smell. I rubbed my belly as I walked in. "Smells good Father!"

"Welcome, Daniel. Have a seat." He looked up from his cellphone, smiling at me. "How was your outing?"

I looked around. "Father, you didn't tell me there is another ghost in Amity Park."

"Must've slipped my mind."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You knew, didn't you? That's why you chose this town?"

"Perhaps. Did you notice anything weird about this ghost?"

"She threatened me with a thermos." I laughed.

"No, Daniel. Focus. What else did you notice?" He crossed his arms, staring at me with an unblinking glance.

"Uh..." I thought back. "She was my age?"

"Yes. And?"

I scowled. "What else do you expect me to say?"

"I'll say it for you then, Daniel. She's half-human."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm smart." He laughs. "In all seriousness, Daniel, the only ghosts you've met before now were me and your mother. There's a talk that we need to have."

I sat down on the other side of him, since I had been standing this entire time. "What talk? The birds and bees?"

"No, Daniel. I've never talked to you about your ghost side beyond you using your powers. You see, we don't talk in English. We're talking in ghost speak."

I snapped my fingers. "So that's why the maid asked me if I speak English!"

"Yes, Daniel. To humans, our language sounds like French. So we'll play it off like we talk French here, since they'll be curious. Another thing I need to tell you: the ghostly birds and bees."

I put my head on the table, groaning.

"Ghosts can be born, like in our case, or they can be created."

"Created? Like in an accident?"

"Yes. If human DNA is infused with Ectoplasm, they'll become a half-ghost. That's a created ghost. A born ghost, is someone who was born of someone who is a half-ghost. Ghosts and humans mate, creating half-ghosts."

"So interesting, Father." I spoke, my voice monotone.

"There are also ghosts that are only ghosts. We moved to Amity Park, because it is the hum of paranormal activity." He smiled, pushing the newspaper towards me.

I grabbed it, reading the headline:

 **SAM PHANTOM DEFEATS LUNCH LADY**

"Sam Phantom?" I snickered. "What kind of name is that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Daniel Plasmius."

I shrugged. "That's just your name, Father. I took your ghostly name while I'm talking to ghosts, just like you told me to do if I ever met one."

"Which is good. You need to protect your identity. I want you to watch over Phantom. She is unstable, but powerful. Guide her, but don't tell her who you are."

"Obviously." I ate some food on my plate, and when I looked up, I noticed a maid staring at me. It was the same maid as before, her blue eyes met mine, and she turned away. "Father, the maid has been staring at me. I wonder why?"

"It's interesting to her, my boy. We're speaking another language that she dosen't understand, and she's trying to figure out what we're saying. They don't get a lot of forgeners around here."

"Makes sense." I wiped at my face with a napkin. "So, you told her we're speaking French, right? What if they look into our history and see we've never been to France?"

"I've been to France many times. One of my companies have a office there."

"Oh." I thought about the companies he managed, and how he did it. It made my head hurt to think about. I shook my head to clear the thoughts. My phone buzzed, and I saw it was a text from Noah.

 **N: heard you moved. True?**

 **D: Yep. Amity Park.**

 **N: Where's that?**

 **D: No idea man.**

 **N: we'll miss you, man. Kept it real**

 **D: I'll come visit if possible.**

 **N: see ya then.**

I looked back at Father. He was rapidly talking on his cellphone to one of his companies, and he eventually got up from the table, exiting the room. I followed him out, but instead I headed up to my room. I laid on the bed and fell asleep, watching the stars passing by.


	3. New beginnings

I opened my eyes. It was morning now, and I slowly got out of bed. I yawned, rubbing my eyes. I walked over to my closet, picking out the nearest outfit. I threw it on. Father had told me this school didn't have a dress code, which was weird. Since when don't private schools have a dress code? I went over to the mirror, and brushed my hair. I was wearing a dark green button up shirt, with black pants. This was casual for me, but Father would still be pleased. It was far comfier than the usual monkey suits I'd wear to Rutherford High.

I exited my room, walking down the long hallway to the kitchen for some breakfast. Father was nowhere to be seen, which wasn't normal. I shrugged it off. He was probably doing something with his companies. I made myself a bowl of cereal and was slowly eating it. I noticed a TV in the kitchen, and I switched it on. It was the local news, showing a scene from Phantom fighting a ghost called the Box Ghost. I tilted my head, analyzing her fighting tactics. It seems like she just used raw strength to get by. Which meant that she would tire much more quickly, and thus be defeated faster. If I was supposed to keep an eye on her, I guess this would mean I would have to train her. I smiled to myself. This would be fun.

"Good morning, sir Daniel." A maid walked up to me, curtseying. This one was younger than the other I'd met before.

I waved a hand. "Daniel is fine, you don't have to sir me." I continued eating my cereal.

"I was pleased to hear you speak English, and so fluently. Not many people your age speak fluently two different languages." She made small talk as she cleaned the kitchen.

I raised an eyebrow. "Can you do that somewhere else? I'm eating here."

"My apologies." She walked out of the room.

I huffed, going back to eating my cereal. She couldn't have waited ten minutes for me to leave? How rude. I checked the time on my phone. 7:30. I had no idea where the school was, I had never seen it. I would take a car, since they'd know better than I would by driving me. I would fly to Rutherford when I was late, but I knew Gleset like the back of my hand. Gleset was a huge town, but I had lived there my entire life. I was sad to leave my friends, especially on such short notice. I also missed Mother. I had hoped she'd text me, but she hadn't said anything to me. Mother and Father's divorce was so sudden, it really caught me off guard. What the hell had happened? I sighed. I called the car driver, telling him to come pick me up. I put my shoes on, lacing up the laces when the car driver pulled in. I nodded to him as I climbed in the backseat. "Casper High, please."

"Certaintly, young sir." He chirped. He was young, with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes.

"Don't sir me. It's Daniel." I groaned. Was everyone going to be like this?

"My apologies, Daniel."

I shrugged, pulling out my cellphone. I texted Father:

 **D: Just left for school. Where are you?**

 **F: Sorry, Daniel. Had an emergency at the office. Good luck to your first day. I trust you look well, yes?**

 **D: Yes, Father. I wore the green button up shirt with dress pants.**

 **F: Well, that is a very casual outfit. I guess it will work.**

 **D: Sorry, Father.**

I leaned out the window, taking in the sights. There were a lot of hills, but I still wasn't sure where Amity Park was. Based on my friend's responses, they didn't either. I got a sudden idea. "What state are we in?"

"Michigan. Amity Park is near Canada."

I nodded, staying silent. We hadn't moved that far from Gleset. We used to live in southern Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. Father had explained why we moved here, but it didn't make it any easier. I watched Casper High pull up in the distance, and as we got closer, I realized it was a _public_ school. Oh no. What the hell was this? It was three stories tall, painted a shit brown. The American flag waved from the roof, but I barely paid attention to any of it.

"We're here, Daniel." The driver went around and opened my door for me.

I stepped out of the car, straightening my cuffs on my shirt as I did so. I was insanely nervous. This was a terrible idea. I would be going to school with _peasants._ I gulped down my uncertainty, walking up the path to the school. I looked around. There were kids on the grass, looking at me. I noticed they were wearing super casual clothes, like, jeans. I had never worn a pair of jeans in my life, and I suddenly felt overdressed. Which was ridiculous, since this was the most casual outfit I owned. I sighed, pushing forward into the school. I looked around again. The walls were green. Everything was green. I cringed. They needed a redecorator.

I pulled out my phone, and dialed Father.

"What is it, Daniel? I'm busy!"

"This is a public school! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd act like this!" He sighed. "There's only one high school in Amity Park. You're just going to have to get used to it!"

Then he hung up on me.

I cursed. I walked towards the office, or what I hoped was the direction of the office. I watched the screen of my phone as I furiously texted Lynn.

 **D: I'm going to die. I'm actually going to PUBLIC school! What do I do?**

 **L: Oh god. Public school?**

 **D: Yes! That's what I just said.**

 **L: That's terrible! They smell like BO and they have poor people! I'm so sorry Daniel!**

 **D: I'm going to have to beg Father to homeschool me. I can't do this!**

 **L: Good luck, Daniel.**

 **D: Thanks. I'll need it.**

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, to see a tall dude with blonde hair, and dark blue eyes. "Who're you?" He asked.

I extended my hand. "Daniel Masters. Today is my first day here, and I could use some help."

The boy just looked at my hand, and didn't touch it. I retracted my hand, frowning. Did he think he was too good for me?

"You play any sports, Dan?" He smiled. "We have to beat our rivals."

"Heh. It's Daniel. And no."

"You don't play sports?" He cocked his head to the side. "So what do you do?"

"My old school, Rutherford, was a private school and we didn't really 'do' sports. We prefer to use our money for fun."

"How so?"

"Uh. Well, my Father hasn't let me use any of his cars since I crashed his BMW last month. He also doesn't let me use his helicopter anymore." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "I've been cut off from doing all that. It's kind of embarrassing, but we don't really have everything here yet anyway."

"Helicopter? BMW? How rich are you, dude?" He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Us friends have to stick together, you know."

I thought for a second. "I'm not sure exactly, but we have over a billion dollars."

The boy gasped, holding his heart. "Dude! You're super rich!"

I scowled. "Let me guess. Your family only has a few million dollars, right? Hardly enough to live on."

"Millions? Dude, I live in a trailer."

"What's a trailer?" I had never heard that word before in use of housing. Did he mean like an RV trailer? Those were lower class, but if you wanted to travel, it was useful to have. I'm sure Mother had one somewhere, since she loved to travel.

"What's a—oh my god." He face palmed.

I shrugged. "I never got your name."

"Dash Baxter."

"Nice to meet you, Dash." I smiled. I was going to kill Father for making me go here.

"Watch this!" He walked up to two teens who had their backs turned.

I followed him curiously. One was a girl with short black hair, and the other was an African-American boy with short black hair. They were whispering to themselves, so I used my supernatural hearing to hear what they were saying.

"Tuck, this ghost was a new one. He just laughed at me."

"Well, you are funny looking!" He laughed.

"Tuck! I'm being serious. What if he's dangerous? How will I stop him?"

"Stop him? Obviously, you didn't scare him. I'd say stay out of his way."

Dash closed her locker in her face. "Hey, Fenturd."

 _How long was he there?_

I heard the voice again. Where the hell was this voice coming from? I'm loosing my damned mind!

 _Doesn't matter. He's not smart enough to figure it out._

"What do you want, Dash? I'm loosing brain cells just talking to you." The girl turned around. Her short black hair cupped her face, and she glared at him, her purple eyes glinting.

I could see the hatred in her face. I could guess this was a typical bully picking on an underling thing. Since she was talking about ghosts, however, I'd have to step in. I walked over to Dash, putting my hand on his shoulder. "My man. You don't need to prove your superiority to me."

"I don't?" He scratched his head for a second. "It's fun to pick on Fenturd, though." He smiled evilly.

Her eyes met mine, and I felt a tingle go down my spine. I scowled. I already hated Dash.

 _Who the hell is this? Holy hell he's cute!_

"Dash, do you mind? I need to asses the underlings."

"Sure, Daniel! Hopefully we have some classes together!" He laughed, walking off.

I turned back to the other two. I crossed my arms. "Listen. I don't like him any better than you do."

"Doesn't look that way. You two seemed to be very chummy." The boy said, straightening his glasses.

"He just happened to be the first person I ran into. Now, if you can point me in the direction of the office, I will be on my way." The girl pointed to my left, and I nodded. I walked off.

 _Holy hell! I couldn't even speak!_

I scowled. I was going insane for sure. It seemed like I was only hearing this one voice, but the question is, who's voice is it?


	4. Training

When I got to the office, I stopped. It was such a small office I couldn't help but stare. There was one woman behind the counter, and another in a desk to the right. When I opened the door, they both turned to look at me. I cleared my throat. "My name is Daniel Masters. Today is my first day here, and I need a schedule."

"Welcome, Mr. Masters. My name is Gloria." She was about 45, with graying red hair. Her green eyes were glued to my blue eyes, and she extended a hand out to me, and I shook it.

"Thank you, Gloria." I smiled.

"Dressed up for your first day, huh?" She made small talk as she wrote me a schedule.

"Actually, no." I laughed. "This is the most casual outfit I own. My Father said it was too casual to wear to school."

She looked up. "No jeans?"

"Nope."

She stayed silent for a minute. "Alright, here's your schedule. Your homeroom is with Mr. Lancer, your locker will be 627, and your first class is Math."

"Math this early in the morning?" I gasped. "Oh god this is going to suck." Gloria smiled sympathetically at me, and I left the office and followed the mini map she gave me. I knocked on the door to classroom 217 before entering. The teacher turned to look at me, who I guessed was Mr. Lancer. He was bald, with a huge belly.

 _Aaand he's back._

This time I ignored the voice.

"Ah, you must be our new student. Introduce yourself to the class." Mr. Lancer spoke.

I walked over to stand by the teacher, and I turned to face the class. "Greetings, everyone. My name is Daniel Masters. I just moved here from Gleset, Wisconsin. I look forward to interacting with you all." I flashed my signature smile, and I heard two girls talking about how cute I was. I took a seat behind the girl from the hallway.

 _He has to sit behind me? How am I supposed to hate him if he's so damned cute? Get yourself together, Sam!_

I started. That was her voice in my head? She didn't look like anything special to me. I sighed. Why was life so hard? I had everyone wrapped around my finger at Rutherford, and now I had to redo all my hard work. I tapped my fingers on my desk, not even listening to the lesson.

"Will you stop that?" the girl in front of me turned around suddenly.

"Stop what?"

"Tapping your fingers. It's annoying."

"You're annoying."

"Ugh!" She turns back around.

What the hell is her problem?

"Did you say something?" She turned back around. "I swore I heard your voice."

"No. I didn't say anything." Crazy bitch.

"Yes you did! You just called me a crazy bitch!"

I stopped. "I didn't say that out loud. I thought that." I scowled. "You reading my mind now?"

"How the hell would I be able to read your mind?" She scowled.

"You're acting like I know or care. Now shut the fuck up before you get us caught by Lancer."

She turned around. I could feel her silently fuming, but I didn't really care. The rest of the class passed in a blur, and I was the first person to exit the class after it ended. I looked at my phone to see a text from Father.

 **F: How's school going?**

 **M: Terrible. I hate poor people.**

 **F: That's not nice, Daniel.**

 **M: Father. One boy claims to live in a trailer! Even I don't know what that is.**

 **F: You'll get used to it, Daniel.**

I literally collided with someone. I dropped my phone, cracking the screen. I cursed, looking up to see who blocked me. The girl from before stood right in front of me, her arms crossed. "What the hell do you want, Fenturd?"

"Fenturd is not my name!" She stomped her foot.

"I don't care."

"My name is Sam Fenton. You, Masters, will listen to what I have to say."

"Lay it on me, then." I crossed my arms.

"I don't like you, you don't like me. You get in my way again, and we will have trouble." Her eyes flashed red.

What the fuck? Did her eyes just flash red?

She coughed a bit, redirecting conversation. "Listen. I don't care if you were Alpha at your old school. Got it?"

I scowled. "I don't care, Fenturd." I pushed past her to my next class.

A blue wisp of air escaped my lips. It was my ghost sense. I looked around, but didn't see anything.

And then the whole school shook with a deafening roar.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled, covering my ears. When I looked up, I saw that Sam was gone. Typical, she probably just ran. I turned around and saw Phantom wrestling with a huge ghost. It was a blue dragon, probably about 50 feet tall and just as wide. It was a ghost dragon. When Father said there were increased activities here, he wasn't kidding. I decided that today was not the day to fight an enraged ghost dragon. I'd just let Phantom handle it. I ran down the hallway, but I heard something zipping towards me, and then I felt myself lifted off my feet.

"I've got you!" Phantom yelled in my ear. She turned us intangible, passing us through a wall. When the smoke cleared, I saw the charred remains of the wall where I was standing a second before.

I smacked her hands off of me. "I didn't need your help!" I hissed.

"Thanks to me, you're not a charred crisp!" She yelled back. "A 'thank you' would be in order!"

I gritted my teeth. "You get no thanks from me."

"Fine!" She flew off through the wall, going back to fighting the ghost.

I stood off to the side, out of danger, and watched her fight. The fight had went into the cafeteria, and tables were being thrown left and right. It was a pretty interesting sight to watch.

I was so drawn into watching the fight that I didn't notice the table being hurled right at me.

"Watch out!" Phantom screamed.

I snapped back to reality just in time. I leapt over the table with perfect aerobatics, changing into my ghost form as I tunneled around the table. I heard Phantom gasp, but I didn't particularly care. This was the second time this ghost had tried to kill me today, and I wasn't going to stand for a third. I gulped in a huge amount of air, and let out a Ghostly Wail. I controlled the Wail, aiming it just for the dragon ghost so I caused less damage. I cut off the wail abruptly when the dragon crashed back down to the ground. I floated back onto the ground, my anger making my eyes burn an intense green.

Phantom flew up to the ghost and sucked it into the thermos. Then she turned to me. "How did you…?"

I waved a hand. "Not the place."

"But-"

"No. My house, 6 o'clock."

She gulped, nodding. I changed back into my human form, straightening my shirt. I dialed Father.

"What now, Daniel?"

"A ghost just attacked the school. Huge dragon ghost. Had an amulet around it's neck."

I heard him sigh. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Phantom saw me change. It was either blow my cover or be crushed by a table."

"A table?"

"Yes." I looked around the destroyed cafeteria. "No one else saw but her."

"Be careful, Daniel. Don't reveal anything to her you're not supposed to!"

"But Father, she's already asking questions. What do I do?"

He made a strangled noise. "Damn it, Daniel! This is why I told you to hide your identity!"

"But Father—"

"Daniel, I'm going to send my driver out to get you. If anyone asks, just tell them that I panicked and pulled you from school for your safety. If this girl learns anything else about you, it can seriously put you in danger."

"You're the one who told me to watch her, Father." I said silently.

He was silent for a moment. "Fine. Tell her what you want. But you better make damned sure she can keep her mouth shut!"

"Yes, Father." I ended the call. The screen was still broken on my phone. I would have to get a new one soon.

Phantom walked over towards me and looked me up and down for a moment. Then, two white rings formed at her waist, turning her back into Sam Fenton. It wasn't too surprising for me to figure out. I had had a hunch since I saw her talking about ghosts in the hallway. I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

"What language were you speaking on the phone?" She asked. "It certainly wasn't English."

I frowned, and then it dawned on me. Father had told me that we have been speaking ghost speak, and I must be switching back and forth between the languages without even realizing it. "It's ghost speak. My father and I use it to communicate."

"Ghosts have their own language?"

"No shit. This isn't the place to talk about this." I turned, jabbing her in the chest. "My house. 6 P.M. Don't be late." I walked out of the cafeteria without another word. I passed Tucker as he ran to find Sam, and him and my eyes met for a brief second before he continued on, not a word spoken between us. I was sure that Sam would tell Tucker everything, including my dual identity. I walked through the hallway until I went out the front doors. I ran into Mr. Lancer, who was outside. "Mr. Lancer!"

"There you are, Daniel." He smiled.

"My Father is sending a car to pick me up. He's extremely worried, you see. My first day here and there's a ghost attack."

"I understand." He frowned.

I nodded and kept walking to where I saw the car parked in front of the school. I climbed in, not having to word anything to him. I leaned on the windowsill, not paying attention to anything. My mind was on the dragon ghost, trying to figure out a way to defeat her. She was also using brute strength to defeat her targets, but she was slow. When all else failed, she had fire breath. It wouldn't be hard to beat her, but it would take a little bit of smarts.

We pulled up to the house, and I got out of the car slowly. I walked inside, and scribbled a quick note for Sam, leaving it on the table by the door. I made my way to the secret lab. I put in the passcode, descending down the stairs. I changed into my ghost form. I pressed a button on the manual to my left, bringing up a few dummies to practice tactics with.

A few hours later, I heard the door open, and I sensed someone coming down the stairs. I smirked, destroying the targets to ash. I wiped my forehead and turned around. Sam had brought Tucker. Of course she did, I expected nothing less. I had taken off my shirt, leaving my chest exposed. I walked over to where I had water, and took a huge sip.

 _Holy hell! Why is he so hot?_

I smirked. I hadn't told her I could read her thoughts, just that she could read mine. "By the way, my name is Daniel." I held out my hand to Tucker, but he didn't shake it. I was getting used to that sort of thing by now, but it didn't stop me from being polite.

"You were training?" Sam walked over to the pile of ash. She was in her human form.

"Yes. When you don't use your powers, you can get power buildup, which is unstable and dangerous. I had to do this several times a week at home to make sure I was healthy." I smiled. "My Mother hated it. She hated anything ghostly related in the house, even though she was also a half ghost. Never made any sense to me." I took another sip of my drink, and pulled my shirt over my head. It was just a simple black tank top. I never wore it out of the house since it was a training outfit. I was still in my ghostly form, but it was far easier to train in ghost mode.

"So why do you train in ghost form then?" Tucker asked, as if reading my thoughts.

"It's easier. Since you're getting rid of power buildup, it's the perfect way to use my powers. I can use them as a human, but not to this extent."

"You can use powers as a human?" Sam asked. "Every time I tried I always burned my hands."

"It takes concentration, and your human half has to get used to it. How long have you been a ghost anyway? Father mentioned you weren't born one, but he didn't go into detail."

Sam laughed awkwardly. "About four months."

"Long enough time to make a name for yourself." I stated. "Which, by the way, is not a good thing."

"Why not, dude? She's making the world a better place." Tucker stated.

I frowned. "You don't know." I almost laughed. "Oh my god."

"Know what?"

When I didn't answer her, she grabbed me by the shirt. "What don't I know?"

I smirked, taking her hands off me quite easily. "Follow me." I walked up the steps, leaving the two of them to follow me. I walked to the private study, where we had also hidden the ghost portal. I picked up a newspaper, and gave it to Sam for her to read.

 **SAM PHANTOM; GHOST ENEMY #1**

 **REWARD: $100,000**

"Fighting ghosts is a crime in the Ghost World." I stated point blank. "Technically, my helping you at all makes me enemy number two. But everyone respects my family in the ghost zone. I told them to back off for the time being until I figure out what to do with you."

"Back off?!" She threw the newspaper on the floor, getting in my face again. Her eyes flashed red from her anger. "Who died and made you King? I do what I want, when I want!"

I looked her in the eyes. "You touch me like that again and it will be the last thing you do." I replied, my voice cold. "I will destroy you."

She lowered her hands, her eyes going back to their natural purple. "How could I ever think you were going to help me?" she scoffed.

I laughed for a minute or two. When I stopped, my voice was still ice cold. "Without my protection, you'd be dead where you stand."


	5. Lies

"That's harsh, dude!" Tucker piped up. "Nobody has the ability to say who lives or dies! This isn't the 1800s!"

I smirked. "You two really don't know anything about ghostly politics do you? Or anything about ghosts at all." I crossed my arms.

"Not really." He said quietly.

I heard footsteps, and I turned to see my Father. He was in his human form, and boy did he look pissed. "Daniel! You brought her _here?_ You might as well be telling her that we're here to spy on her!"

This time, I noticed the switch from English to ghost speak. Ghost speak you talk quicker, but it also has a certain melody to it I never noticed. I scowled. Of course he'd want this conversation kept private. "Father. All I've told her is that I train to keep my powers in check and that she's public enemy number one." I picked up the newspaper from the floor to show him.

"You are risking so much more here than you realize." He sighed. He took me by the shoulder, leading me away from them.

"Don't worry, she can't understand us. I tested her ghost speak when I was on the phone with you earlier."

Father crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at me. "What else have you told her?"

I thought for a second. "The only other thing was that you and I speak in ghost speak. I also threatened her, because she threatened me." I turned to look at her, just double checking she couldn't understand us. Her and Tucker's face were blank, not an ounce of recognition in their expressions.

 _He's looking at me. He's gotta be telling his dad about me. What the hell is he saying?_

"She threatened you? How?" His voice was sharp as he glared daggers at Sam.

"She grabbed my shirt like she wanted to blast me. Twice. The first time I took it in stride. The second time I told her I'd destroy her." I cracked a smile.

Father laughed loudly until he was gasping for breath. "You told her?" he cut himself off, still laughing.

I rolled my eyes at him, consciously switching back to English. "Laugh it up, Father."

Sam grabbed my arm. "What the hell did you tell him?"

"My boy, she's handsy isn't she!" Father said, imitating my fake accent.

My head whipped back to my Father. "Oh my god." I buried my face in my hands to stop my intense blush. "You heard that! Motherfucker."

"Yes?" He asked.

"What?" Then it dawned on me. Motherfucker. Technically he was a motherfucker... But that's so gross! "You're gross!" I laughed, elbowing his arm.

"My boy, I hear everything." He laughed, switching back to his normal accent. He still had a tad heavier accent than normal, and I realized something.

"Father. I don't think I've ever heard you speak English." I gasped. "Or Mother. Man, that's weird."

"So, where is your Mother anyway?" Tucker asked, looking past Father.

Father and I looked at each other. I shrugged, while Father stayed silent. I looked over at him. "Father, where is Mother? You told me she'd be here by tomorrow." I switched to ghost speak.

Father laughed nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck. "She will be here." He responded in ghost speak. I raised an eyebrow. "What is this? 20 questions?" He pushed me closer to Sam and Tucker, almost making me loose my balance.

Before I could say anything, he teleported out of the room. "Motherfucker!" I cursed, switching back to English.

"What's going on?" Sam asks. "Your dad was acting weird."

I crossed my arms. "Yes, he was."

"What did you ask him?" Tucker asked.

I turned, looking back at the two of them, since I had my back turned. "I asked him where my Mother was. I haven't seen her in two days. But Father said they were getting a divorce, but why wouldn't he just tell me where Mother was?" I scratched my chin. I walked over to the desk on the other end of the room, and started pulling open drawers.

There were no divorce papers.

"What the fuck?" I sat in the chair, scowling. "No divorce papers? Father's been lying to me!"

"How do you know he was lying?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, and closed it. I stayed silent. I couldn't tell them about moving to Amity Park to watch over Sam. Father also told me not to tell anyone about the divorce, since it would raise questions. "By the way you broke my phone, Sam." I replied as I dialed Mother's number. I got no answer. Mother was always glued to her phone, so it made no sense to why she wasn't answering her phone. I chewed on my bottom lip, sighing. I set my phone down on the desk, walking towards Sam and Tucker. "I wanted to bring you here today, Sam, because I'm going to be training you."

"I don't need any help." She scowled.

I raised an eyebrow. "Dragon Ghost."

She gritted her teeth. "Fine. What do you think I'm doing wrong, if you're so perfect?"

"Well, first of all, you're using too much energy. You run out of stamina too fast, and you're easily beaten." I thought for a second. "You need to rely on your wits. You cannot show your enemy your weaknesses. You want them to assume that you have none." I changed back to my human form while I was thinking. I grabbed a set of gloves from the shelf on the wall. I slipped them on my hands. I gestured for them to follow me. I walked back down the stairs to the training area. I pressed a few buttons on the controller, bringing up some more dummies. I turned the lever all the way to expert mode.

"I turned human so you could watch me react in a human-like way. I think that might be the best way for you to learn for now." I stepped into the field, and the machinery hummed to life. Reflexively, I brought a shield around me. I dodged an attack to my right, and used a small concentration of my powers, but I relied on my physical attacks to defeat the dummies. When I was done beating up dummies, I turned to Sam. "What did you learn?"

"You're hot when you work out?" She covered her mouth, blushing a ferocious red.

"Focus, Sam!" I gritted my teeth.

"Sorry! I noticed you didn't use your powers at all."

I nodded. "And?"

"Uh. You used strength, just like you just told me not to do?"

I face palmed. "No. I told you not to use all of your energy at once. If you pace yourself and not push your limits every time you fight, you will eventually learn how to kick ass without needing to kill yourself doing it." I took my shirt off again. I had a six pack of abs which I was very proud of. However, at this particular moment, I was getting hot and sweaty and needed to concentrate. I threw it to the side. I pounded my fists together. "Fight me."

"Fight you? How will that help me?" She crossed her arms.

"Gets out your aggravation, and plus it lets you see how I fight."

She shrugged. She leaned forward, punching near my shoulder. I dodged, grabbing her arm and pulling it behind her. I heard her gasp, but I didn't pull it far back enough to hurt her. "Again." I called. She growled, trying to punch me in the face. I stared at her first as it got closer to me, and at the last second I backtracked and tripped her. She fell flat on her face.

"Har har! This is really a lesson!" She got up, groaning. "It's kick Sam's ass day! What is this going to prove?"

"Most of your combat is hand to hand. You're either punching ghosts, or blasting them with ecto rays." I lit my hand up with red energy.

"Whoa! How is that not hurting you?" She grabbed my hand gently, but didn't touch the flame.

I smiled gently. "I told you. It takes concentration and practice." I formed the flames into a diamond made of fire and she gasped, letting go of my hand.

"That's so beautiful." Her eyes were glued to the fire diamond.

I let the energy die in my hands. "Sam, ghost energy is not just used for violence. It can also be used for beauty. I don't know if anyone ever mentioned it to you, but ghosts can wield different temperatures. Both of my parents have hot cores. I have a hot core."

"What do you mean by core?" Tucker asks, who had been silent for a long time.

"Ghosts don't have hearts. We have cores. They're sort of like hearts, but instead of blood, they pump ectoplasm. They also have a tendency to be hot, cold, or neutral. A hot or cold core is usually rare, with cold being the rarest."

"Wow. I wonder what kind of core I have." She had a thoughtful expression. "You know Danny, I think I can learn a lot from you."

I cringed. "Don't call me Danny. It's Daniel."

She shrugged. "Alright, Danny."

I groaned. "My name is not Danny. I won't respond to it."

Sam smiled evilly at Tucker. They had finally found something to get under my skin. I only knew these two for a few hours, but I felt closer to them than I ever had with anyone back home. It also had something to do with them being in on my secret, but I felt at ease.

I finally had someone I could trust unconditionally.


	6. Weaknesses

Sam and I trained for a few hours, but I noticed no real improvement. I knew it would take time, but I didn't think she'd be so slow to learn. I was still in my human form, and I was starting to get tired. I knew how to pace myself, but Sam didn't. She was probably wiped. I checked the time on my phone and it read 11:06 P.M. I whistled. We had been training for five hours.

"I can't do any more!" Sam called, getting my attention. I turned to look at her. Her nose was bleeding slightly from when I accidentally punched her. She had bruises up and down her arms from falling on the ground. I felt pity for her. It was almost like looking in a mirror from when I had started my training.

"Alright." I extended my hand to help her to her feet. She took it, steadying herself. "The good thing about being a half-ghost is that we have unnaturally fast healing abilities. This will all be gone by morning."

"Ugh. I don't think the soreness will go away." She complained.

"Sure it will." I smiled, looking over at Tucker in the corner. He was doing something on his PDA, but I didn't care enough to find out what. I shrugged, passing a water bottle to Sam who downed it. "Tucker, want anything to drink, man?"

He started, looking at me with a guilty expression. "Uh, no, I'm good man!" He straightened his glasses, hiding his PDA from me.

Now I know something is going on. I would have to look into Tucker's history to know what he was capable of.

I didn't remember that Sam could read all my thoughts.

"Okay, suit yourself." I replied casually. I grabbed my water bottle, downing half of it in one sip. I set it down and put my tank top back on. I grabbed my phone, dialing a number. "Terry, I need a car. Yes, I know it's late, its not for me. Uh huh. See you soon." I hung up the phone.

"You got us a ride?" He asked.

"Sure. I assume she flew you here, but she can barely walk. I figured I'd do you both a favor." Sam opened her mouth to argue, but stopped at the expression on my face. She just grumbled her thanks. I walked up the stairs, and they followed me. I walked to the living room, and turned on the TV. There was a ghost sighting, but it was only the Box Ghost. I sat on the couch, putting my feet up in the recliner. "You both can take a seat it's going to take Terry a while to get here."

They took a seat on the couch, and were whispering about something. They probably assumed I couldn't hear them, but I could hear every word.

"He said he's going to look into you." Sam whispered.

"What? Why?"

"He wants to know what your capable of. I wonder why?"

"What if he's secretly our enemy and is getting your weakness?"

I smiled. "I can hear everything your saying."

Both of them started, and looked over at me. "Bullshit." Sam says.

I sat up and looked at them. "I am not your enemy. In fact, you could call me an ally. I'm training you to be a better ghost, and control your powers before you kill us all." I scowled.

"What do you mean by kill us all?" She breathed, looking terrified. "I wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose."

I sighed. "That's a lesson for another time, Sam."

"No! I need to know! Am I a danger to my family?" Tears sprouted from her eyes, threatening to spill over.

Of course anyone would care about their family. I took a second to think about what I was going to say. I didn't want to scare her. "It's difficult to explain-"

"Just tell me!"

"Fine." I looked her in the eyes. "Your ghost half is always at war with your human half until you make harmony. You cannot let your ghost side try to overpower you. If you fail to make peace with the fact that you are a ghost, you will become a ticking time bomb. Your ghost half will take over, along with all your ghostly reflexes and desires. You will become a full ghost, and you may go on a killing rampage, since that is what all new ghosts do."

She looked like she was going to be sick. "Stop."

I got up from my seat. "Sam. You _must_ make your peace. If you don't you are a danger to your family. You are a ghost now, it's who you are. You cannot hide it or deny it. You must be completely at ease. That is the only way it will not rule you."

"Dude! You're scaring her!" Tucker put his arms around Sam, trying to calm her down.

"Good! She needs to make her peace before it's too late." I sighed. "Don't be like my sister."

They both turned to look at me. "You have a sister?"

"Had." I sighed. "Her name was Madeline. She was my twin." I walked over to the dresser by the door, where I had left the note for Sam and Tucker earlier. I picked up a photograph. It was a family photograph. It was my sister and I's first day of school in 8th grade. She had her arm around me, and I rested my head on hers. Our parents were standing behind us, my Father behind me and my Mother behind Madeline. My sister had black hair also, but she had dark blue eyes like Father. Her hair was dyed pink on the ends, which Father hated but Mother found funny. I tore my eyes from the photograph, and handed it to Sam, who took it gingerly.

I didn't want to think about it. I had put it out of my mind for three years now. I missed her more than I could bear, but nothing was going to bring her back. I sighed.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

I looked over at her. For once, I felt sadness. Tears spilled out of my eyes against my will, but I wiped them off stubbornly. When I spoke, my voice shook from my emotions. "Women are more disposed to letting the ghost win." I sighed. "She let it control her. She killed 30 humans. The ghost executioner came over to our world and killed her. Even with my family's influence, I was powerless."

She walked over and threw her arms around me, the picture still in her hand. "Daniel, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

I was shocked for a second, before wrapping my arms around her. I would barely hug anyone, but I felt as if I could trust her. "You must make your peace. Only then can you protect this city." I whispered, knowing Tucker couldn't hear. "You find it in yourself to accept what's happened to you, and then you can move on and become stronger."

She nodded into my chest. "I'll try."

I moved away from her. "I don't let my emotions control me. My sister is my weakness." I sighed. I walked away from the both of them, leaving them alone in the living room. I went into the private study, locking the door behind me. I sat at the computer, and pulled up files on Tucker.

 _Tucker Wade Foley_

 _B: December 2, 19XX_

 _Son of Maurice and Angela Foley_

I studied the files, drawing my own conclusions. Tucker was apparently good at hacking tech. It could come in handy. I pulled up a file on Sam.

 _Samantha Jane Fenton_

 _B: August 13, 19XX_

 _Daughter of Jack and Maddie Fenton_

There wasn't much on either of them. They were complete nobodies. I leaned back into the chair. How was I supposed to study them if I knew nothing? I got out of the seat, leaving my phone on the desk. I walked back out to the living room, not at all surprised to see the pair gone. I continued walking to my room, opening the door and collapsing in my bed. I looked up at the ceiling which was clear, showing the stars outside. It was after midnight now, and although I was tired, I didn't feel like sleeping. Why wouldn't Father tell me about Mother? I was going to have to confront him eventually, but could I handle the truth?

The next morning I hopped in the shower, washing off the previous day's sweat. I heard knocking on the front door, and I turned off the water, wrapping a towel around my waist. I walked to the door, pulling it open. Sam and Tucker were standing there, but they were turned away from the door. They obviously didn't expect me to answer it so quickly. "Can I help you?" They both turned to look at me, and immediately Sam blushed a ferocious red.

 _Why the hell is he just in a towel?_

I smiled pleasantly. "I was just in the shower, so excuse my attire. You two can come in." I went back into the house, leading the way to my bedroom. I went into the bathroom to finish my shower.

"Daniel, we wanted to ask you something." Sam asked.

"What?" I yelled from the shower. It was hard to hear her, but I could barely make out the words.

"We'll just wait." Tucker sighed.

When I actually finished my shower, I threw on some clothes and walked back into my bedroom. Tucker was looking around at the paintings on the wall, and Sam was on her phone. I dried my hair with a towel as I talked. "So, what's up?"

"I need to ask you something." She looked up.

"What is it?"

"You said ghost fighting is illegal. Why?"

"You came to my house at 7 am to ask me that?" I scowled. "I thought it would be something important."

"I asked because when you said that law is enforced, and when you told me about your sister's death, it clicked. Could I be executed for fighting?"

"No." I sat beside her on my bed and patted her shoulder. "You'd just be thrown in jail for 1,000 years as a minimum sentence."

"1,000 years? Wouldn't I die long before that?"

"No. Ghosts are immortal." I shrugged. "Ghost puberty is different for everyone, but most people reach theirs by age 16. I haven't reached mine yet."

"You have facial hair, so why haven't you reached it yet?" Tucker asked. "I never knew you had to shave your face."

I touched my chin, feeling a stubbly beard already. I shrugged. "You two have only known me a day. How can you learn everything about me in a day?"

"Point taken." He shrugs.

"Besides. That's human puberty. I hit mine at 14. Ghost puberty is different. You grow fangs—"

"Fangs?!" Sam asked. "Oh man, that will be so cool!"

I scowled. "Yes. Ghosts have retractable fangs. Hybrids have fangs, but they're not retractable, they're always visible. But you also get very sick, because you have to get used to drinking your own poison for a while."

Tucker paled. "Poison? You stay away from me!"

I raised an eyebrow. "This is a natural process, Tucker. All ghosts go through it. Since we're hybrids, it's a little more complex." I paused. "Father hasn't really explained it all to me, just the basics. I'll ask him sometime."

"Where is your father anyway?" he asked.

"Dunno. He's been avoiding me since yesterday." I got up from the bed, going over to my vanity to brush my hair. I straightened my shirt. This time I wore a white button up shirt, which was business casual, with black pants and black dress shoes.

"Do you own anything casual?" Sam asked, looking in my closet. "All suits?"

"Rutherford High had a dress code of fancy suit dress code. I went there for years, so that's all I wear. This is super casual for me to wear."

"We'll take you shopping, don't worry man." Tucker nudged my arm.

"For jeans? No thank you." I shuddered, thinking of Dash's ripped jeans.

"Jeans are comfortable, dude. I don't know how you wear that monkey suit."

"This is pure silk. Feel." I reached out my arm so he could feel the sleeve of the shirt.

He felt it gingerly at first, and then more confidently after a second. "That's awesome."

"$2,000. It was a cheap shirt." I laughed. "Most of my clothes were about $12,000. A set."

Tucker paled. "$2,000 is cheap to you? How fucking rich are you guys?"

"We have probably around a billion or so odd dollars. I was the richest out of all my friends back home." I shrugged.

"Holy shit." Sam exclaims. Tucker nodded.

"Father's very good with his business empire. When I'm old enough, he wants me to take over. Make it look like we're all getting older, but he's not. He dyes his hair white. It's naturally black."

"Ghosts don't age?" she asks.

"No. We reach our maturity peak at 30. After that, we're unable to age. We stay however we look at that point. It also becomes a lot harder to kill a hybrid." I looked at my watch. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now." I walked out of my room, leaving the door open for them to follow. I walked to the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal for breakfast. "Help yourself, you two."

"Got any meat?" Tucker rubbed his hands together.

"Check the freezer." I laughed. I poured myself some cereal and took a seat beside Sam. "Not eating anything?"

"Not hungry." She held her stomach.

"Was it the poison comment?"

"No. It was the entire conversation." She sighed. "Going through puberty twice?"

"Human and ghost puberty." I cracked a smile.

"Why do ghosts get fangs and poison, anyway?"

"Defense mechanism. From the olden days before ghosts got along." I took a bite of my cereal. I loved lucky charms.

"They don't get along though, man." Tucker walked over, a pile of meats on his plate. He took a seat on my other side.

"Much better than they used to. Ghosts used to have wars among themselves, trying to grab onto what little power they could. When Walker took over, and brought order, things got better. The punishments are harsh, but its necessary." I cleared my bowl, putting it in the sink. "Tucker, dude, just how much do you eat?"

"He eats everything." Sam said, clearly used to it.

"Not like he doesn't have money to spare." He whispered in her ear.

I scowled. Of course to them all they cared about was money. It's the same anywhere. I'd never wanted for anything in my life, but I didn't think I was spoiled. Or was I? I had all of my Father's cars to use for my arsenal and he'd just replace them without a bat of an eye. I'd figure it out later, I guess.

"Done yet, Tucker?"

"Yesh." He replied, his mouth completely full.

I shuddered. He had made a huge mess, and had grease down the front of his shirt. "Dude."

"Wot?" he took a huge swallow. "What's up, dude?"

"You look disgusting. You can't go to school in that shirt now."

"It's fine." He waved a hand. "I do this to my clothes all the time."

I still stared at his shirt with disgust and horror. I stopped myself from dry heaving. "I'll be right back." I spun around in my spot, teleporting myself to my bedroom. I only teleported when I was sure that we were alone in the kitchen. I grabbed a t-shirt out of my closet. It was a training t-shirt, but it would work for now. I teleported back to the kitchen with the t-shirt in my hand. "Put this on." I tossed it to him.

"How'd you do that?" Sam asks.

"What? Bring a t-shirt?"

"No, you big dummy! Was that teleportation?"

"Oh!" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yes. I've been doing it for years."

"Could you teach me?" Her eyes practically glowed from her excitement. She looked cute. Kind of.

I shook my head sadly. "No. Teleportation is very hard to teach, and if done wrong can kill you. The only one who can teach you would be Father."

"But—"

"Sam. No." My voice was hard. "I will not risk your safety like that." I crossed my arms.

She pouted. "Fine, but you owe me."

I grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look at me. "Darlin, I don't owe you anything." I smirked.

She instantly blushed deep crimson. "Danny! You jerk!"

"Don't call me Danny! God damnit! It's Daniel!" I let go of her face with an annoyed sound.

Behind my back, she stuck her tongue out at me, causing Tucker to laugh. I ignored it at this point. "You know we're late to school, right?" I checked my watch.

"Says Mr. We-had-to-get-breakfast-before-leaving!" She crossed her arms.

I raised an eyebrow. "I always factor in time for breakfast. I did not factor in time for Tucker to change his shirt and to argue with you."

"Dude, I hope you know I'm not wearing this." He tossed the t-shirt back at me.

I caught it. "Why not? It's clean."

"It's about three sizes too big for me. You're too buff, man." He shrugged. "It would hang off me in rags."

I laughed. "Seriously? It's only a large, dude."

"He's scrawny. Maybe you should be training him instead of me." She says hopefully. "You said I wouldn't be sore, but I still am. And battered and bruised. My sister was trying to beat the information out of who I got in a fight with."

"You didn't tell her, did you?" I frowned.

"Of course not. I'm not a moron. My sister Jazz loves me I know, but she can be annoying." She shrugged. "I come home bruised all the time, but I show up in a car we don't own with dried blood on me and my arms black and blue? It was a new low for me."

"I'm sorry, Sam. That was actually me going easy. We won't physically train until you're healed."

"Thank you." She smiled lightly.

"No problem." I cracked a small smile.

 _He doesn't smile enough. He should do it more; it makes him look human. Sometimes it seems like he's just a ghost._


	7. Venom

Later that day, I had fallen asleep in class yet again. This time, what woke me up was my aching gums. I flicked my tongue around in my mouth, and felt the beginnings of fangs. I texted Father.

 **D: Father. My fangs are coming in.**

 **F: Are they sore?**

 **D: Yes. What happens if I start making venom while in school?**

 **F: It'll come out of your mouth like drool, because you'll loose your ability to swallow as the paralysis kicks in. I'll come get you from school.**

 **D: Paralysis? Father, you need to tell me everything.**

 **F: I will when I get there.**

I put my phone away, and drummed my fingers on my desk. I ticked off 20 minutes on the clock before there was a knock at the door. Gloria from the front desk talked to Mr. Lancer for a second, and they both turned to look at me.

"Mr. Masters, you're free to leave." Mr. Lancer spoke softly.

I grabbed my bag and walked up to him. "Thank you."

"I hope you get over the cold." He smiled at me.

"I hope so too." I smiled, walking out of class. I walked down to the office where I saw Father sitting in a chair. When I walked up to him, he felt my forehead.

"Oh, yes. Running a fever. Thank you, my dear." He spoke to the receptionist.

Gloria smiled at him. "You're welcome, Mr. Masters."

"Gross." I snorted laugher. Father gave me a look, but said nothing. He steered me out of the office by my shoulders, opening the car door for me. He got into the driver's seat, and I was slightly shocked. "Father. You never drive!" I exclaimed.

"You caught me while I was at work, so I borrowed the car and came here." He replied casually.

"What's going to happen to me?" I asked nervously.

"As your venom comes in, you're going to get tired, but that's normal. You'll loose control over your mouth, which means that all drool and venom will leak out. Your venom is strong enough to melt anything it comes into contact with, so it would be best to get you out of there." We pulled up in front of our house. We both stepped out of the car, standing outside in the bright sunlight. "Open."

I could see my reflection in the car's window. There were two bumps on my upper and lower jaw. My tongue tip was starting to turn black, with little veins of black running down my throat.

"I'm not going to die, right?"

"No, my boy." He smiled lightly. "You'll just get sick until your body gets used to it."

"What about you? I know you won't want to leave my side, and I don't want to accidentally kill you either." My bottom lip trembled. I wouldn't be able to bear life without Father. He was my best friend.

"Daniel, you're so cute. I will transform into my ghost form. The only way you could even possibly have the smallest chance of killing me would be if you pumped a syringe full of your venom into my heart. So you're fine." He smiled, tucking some hair behind my ear. He hugged me tightly. "I thought you'd have to wait a lot longer to become a man. I'm so proud of you."

I hugged him back tightly. "I love you, Father."

"I love you too, Daniel."

I laughed a little bit. "You know, it's ironic. I was just telling Sam a little bit about puberty this morning. She thought it was cool that we get fangs."

"Of course she did." He laughed. "What do you think?"

"It's kind of cool. But I'd rather not have them at all, or perhaps be able to retract them like real ghosts." I shrugged.

"We're hybrids. We're better than normal ghosts." Father scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I promised you I'd tell you everything. Let's go down to the private study."

I followed him into the house, and as I moved, I got more and more tired and sluggish. When we got to the study, I was practically floating down the hallway using my powers. I normally had great control over my tiredness, but this felt like I was being drained down to my very soul. It was scary. Father looked behind him and saw me floating instead of walking. He grabbed me from the air slowly, and I let myself fall into his arms. As he went into the study, two black rings formed at his waist, changing him into his ghostly form. I hadn't seen it in a long time. His skin was pale blue, and his red eyes looked at me with concern. His black hair was long, and tied back in a ponytail. He had a plain white shirt and pants on. He whispered in my ear. "Change to your ghost form, Daniel. It will ease the pain."

I did as he asked, the cool energy washing over me. My head felt clearer, but I was still nauseous and disoriented. I felt him open my mouth, and I barely cared what it looked like. I felt hot liquid coming out of my mouth, and in the comfort of my Father's arms, I succumbed to sleep.

When I woke up, I was still in my ghost form. I couldn't move my mouth at all, it felt as if I didn't even have one. My vision was foggy, and I saw Father sitting in a chair to my left. He had a cold rag on my forehead. He was also still in his ghost form, but he was sleeping with his head against the wall.

"F-f-father?" The word took way longer than normal to come from my mouth.

He started. "Daniel, don't move. You'll only make yourself weaker." He grabbed my hand, but I didn't even have the strength to tighten my hand around his.

"W-what." I tried to swallow, but couldn't. There was too much liquid coming from my mouth, and it was as if I couldn't even move my mouth.

"Shh." With his other hand, he stroked my cheek. "Don't talk, dear boy. Save your energy."

"Okay." My voice was very quiet. I felt as if I were watching the scene from above. I closed my eyes, drifting into sleep again.

When I woke for the final time, I noticed that Father had moved me. I was laying in his lap, with my head nestled in his shoulder. I was able to move my mouth again, and I felt the fangs in my mouth. They were sharp as hell, and extended about a centimeter or two taller than my normal teeth. At my slightly movement, Father woke up.

"Daniel?" he spoke softly.

"I'm awake." I also spoke softly. My voice felt weird. As if I had been yelling for several hours and my throat was sore from it. Which was ridiculous. I had been asleep for the entire time.

"I'm glad." He moved so he could look at me fully. "How do you feel?"

"Besides being 15 and sleeping on your Father's lap, I'm fine." I tried to smile, but my mouth was still too numb to try and smile. Instead, I used my hands and made a face.

He laughed. "You're back to your old self. You had me worried."

"I'm sorry Father." I swallowed. My throat felt like sandpaper. "Can I have some water?"

Almost as if he knew I'd ask, he handed me a glowing green glass. I didn't even question it. I downed the entire glass, giving it back to him when I was done. I nestled back into his neck, enjoying the cool feel of his ghost form. It felt good on my hot skin. "Thank you for not letting me die, Father."

He laughed quietly, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "It wasn't even a choice, son." He hummed a tune he used to sing when I was a small child:

 _Oh these little hands_

 _they don't know what hurt is._

 _And these little eyes,_

 _They see the world in different colors._

 _And all I can think about is,_

 _How I can't live without you._

"I haven't heard that in years, Father." I looked back up at him.

He kissed my forehead. "No matter how old you are or how big, you're always going to be my little boy."

"All it took was for me to accidentally poison myself for you to tell me you loved me." I laughed softly. Whatever was in that drink he gave me, I was already feeling better. I smiled again, and this time I was actually able to form a smile. I'm sure I looked goofy doing it.

"You're a dork." He opened my mouth again, studying my fangs. "You still need to grow into your fangs, but they're coming in nicely."

"Is my tongue still black?" I asked, remembering the image of a black tongue when I looked in the car window.

"Yes, but it'll go away when your body gets used to the venom. Your human half was being poisoned by your venom, which is why I had you change to your ghost form. It's stronger."

"Makes sense." I replied. I stretched, and got to my feet slowly. I stood in front of a mirror, studying my reflection. My shirt had black down the front of it, stained from the venom coming out of my mouth. I took off my shirt, leaving my chest exposed. My once snow-white hair was ash gray from grime. I opened my mouth, looking at my new fangs. My tongue was now completely black, and the veins in the side of my mouth were black. "I need a shower."

"Yes you do, little badger." He stood behind me.

I ran my fingers through my hair and stopped cold. My hands hurt so bad just from the little bit of pressure I had put on them. I looked down at my hands, and my nails were bloody red with dried blood running down my hands and wrists. "Father?" I called, looking alarmed.

"Your claws came in." He replied casually.

"Ghosts get claws?!" I stared at my hands.

"Yes. Evolution deemed it necessary to have fangs and claws." He put his hand on top of mine and extended his claws for me to see. They looked just like cat claws. I almost laughed. "Yes Daniel, I know what you're thinking." He retracted his claws. "They're small, but they're as strong as steel. Very hard to break. Nearly impossible."

My hands felt different to me now. I extended my claws. It was still painful, and my hands started to bleed again. I retracted them, the blood still coming from the spot they went in. I frowned. I floated in mid air so I wouldn't have to stand. "Ugh. This is too much in one day."

"One day? Daniel, it's been a week." He frowned, pushing a stray hair from my face. "It took your body much longer than normal to accept your venom, probably because your human half was poisoned by it by remaining in your form for so long. You're going to have to stay in your ghost form until it heals, or you might end up killing yourself." He looked into my eyes, and he looked sad. "I can't bear to loose you. Not after your Mother and sister."

"Father. You're not going to loose me." I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "I'm always going to be here."

"Thank you, Daniel." His voice shook, and he hugged me tightly back.

Tears sprung from the corners of my eyes, and spilled over, running down my cheeks. "I didn't feel ashamed at all. It felt better to cry, get up these pent up feelings. I couldn't imagine what Father had went through. I know I felt like death. I wonder if I looked like it, too?

* * *

The song is an excerpt from Findley's Lullaby on YouTube which can be found here:

watch?v=oTAq9g9E0mk


	8. Secrets

After a shower—which Father insisted on helping me with—I felt much better. My hands and gums were still incredibly sore, but he said it wouldn't last long. Father's assistant had bought me a new phone while I was sleeping, and I was checking all the text messages. I don't remember giving Sam or Tucker my phone number, but caller ID showed them calling multiple times throughout the week. Father was right, of course. I had been asleep a week. I was still weak, but getting stronger each day.

"Daniel?" Father knocked on my door.

"Come in." I had been sitting on my bed, half dressed. I set my phone down. "What's up?"

He was still in his ghost form, and he walked over and sat on the bed beside me. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Well, you know how I never take you to the Ghost World?" He started.

I nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Yes, and if you did, you only took me to Uncle Skulker's."

He smiled. "Skulker has offered to nurse you back to health. It will be a much faster recovery time for you this way, because your ghost half heals fastest in the Ghost World. Plus, Skulker has many herbs he can feed you to speed it up faster."

I frowned. "But Father. You can't disappear from your companies."

"My boy, I already have. I made a statement the night your fangs came in, announcing my absence for your medical reasons until you recover." He stroked my head.

"What?!" I almost leapt to my feet. "That's not suspicious at all, is it?"

"Of course not, Daniel. We just moved to a new area, it's easy to get sick." He smiled. "Besides, this is the start of the beginning."

"There's more?!" I laid back on the bed. "I can't handle another episode like that."

"Speaking of episodes, what do you remember?"

"All I remember is going into the study. I don't remember anything else." I sat back up. "What happened?"

He laughed. "Where do I begin?" He paused for a moment. "Oh, yes. How about we start with your girlfriend knocking down the door, hmm?" He smirked.

I blushed. "Okay, first off, she's not my girlfriend. She annoys the shit out of me." He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. Language." I corrected myself. "She annoys the living heck out of me."

He laughed, hard. When he stopped, he continued. "After your girlfriend knocked down the door, she tried to attack me for hurting you. It took me sealing her in a safety bubble for her to calm down enough to listen."

"You locked her in a _safety bubble?_ Oh man. I am not letting her out of this one." I cracked up laughing.

"So, I told her about the poison, and she flipped out again. Blaming me. That girl has a temper, doesn't she?" He smiled. "After about a day or two, when you didn't wake up, I had her watching you while I got in contact with Skulker. Your uncle loves to hide."

"Ghost World's greatest Hunter." I shrugged. "It's literally in his title."

"Hmm. Fair enough. Skulker and his wife, Ember, are waiting for us whenever you get dressed." He got up, and left my room, closing the door behind him.

"Not like you haven't seen it before!" I called through the closed door. I got up, pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top. No use in wearing my nice clothes. Perhaps a shopping trip was in order. Perhaps some name brand jeans, unlike what those people did at my school. I stretched, and put my tennis shoes on. I was still in my ghost form, but it didn't bother me. I had gone long time switching between forms, so this was nothing new.

I grabbed my phone, and it started to ring in my hand. It was Sam. I answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Daniel, are you okay?"_ Her voice was full of concern. _"I stopped by your dad's and he said you've been really sick, and I can't stop worrying—"_

"Sam, breathe. I'm fine."

" _Good! I'll tell Tucker. I know he's been super worried too."_

That one I doubted. I knew Tucker didn't like me. He's only been putting up with me because I'm rich and I'm training Sam. I frowned. "Sam, I'm not going to be coming back to school anytime soon. Father says that I'm not out of danger yet, and he's taking me to my Uncle's house until I'm fully recovered."

" _You have an Uncle?"_

"That's all you heard from that?" I scowled.

" _No, I was listening. Are you going to the hospital?"_

"Of course not. That would be a very bad idea. Look, I'm not telling you where my Uncle lives, either. We're going to stay with him. I'll call you when we're back in Michigan."

" _Back in Michigan? Daniel—"_

I hung up on her. A part of me didn't trust her enough to tell her I was going to the Ghost World. I felt like she would try to follow and find me, which would put her in danger since she's Enemy #1. I continued down to the private study. I found Father standing next to the ghost portal, talking to someone. I felt as if I should know him, but I didn't.

"Daniel! There you are." Father smiled at me as I walked in.

"Who's this?" I nodded my head towards the unknown ghost.

The ghost laughed. "You don't recognize your Uncle?" Two black rings formed at his waist, turning into his human form. He was tan, with long, bright red hair and dark blue eyes. "Vladimir, your son disappoints me."

Father scowled. "He hasn't seen you since he was a little boy, Skulker. Let alone he _only_ saw you in his ghost form."

"You're right. I'll forgive you for now." Skulker walked to me, and I was nearly his height. He was about 5"11, while I was 5"9. "Don't worry short stack, we'll nurse you back to health."

I scowled. Seriously? How fucking cocky was this dude? I smirked. "If I remember correctly, Uncle, you haven't got to 1v1 fight me yet. Care for a match?"

Skulker frowned. "After you heal, short stack."

I shrugged. "I feel fine. What else is going to happen?"

Skulker and Father looked at each other. Father nodded to Skulker. Father walked forward, resting his hand on my shoulder. "My boy, your powers are going to be unstable. That's why I thought taking you to the Ghost World was a good idea. Your powers are in flux right now, as your body is preparing to house the rest of your powers."

"What's that mean, Father? Simplified."

"Your powers are trying to see how strong you'll be pup." Skulker smiled. "Our gene line has always been of the strongest ghost DNA. You might be stronger than me."

"I doubt that, Skulker." Father looked at him. "He's only 15. Who knows?"

"Our Father was only 15 when he defeated the Ghost King and became King himself." He shrugged.

"Wait. What?" I crossed my arms. "Are you telling me our family has so much influence because Grandpa is King?" I scowled. "Ever plan on telling me, Father?"

"I was going to someday, Daniel." Father rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I didn't want that to go to your head also."

"How would that go to my head?" I stopped myself. "Never mind."

"You know Vladimir he might just be a Plasmius yet." Skulker fist bumped Father.

I groaned. "You're unbearable."

"You're stuck with it, kid." Skulker checked his watch. "Let's go, hmm?"

Father nodded. "Daniel, I've told all the maids to stop cleaning the house, as we won't be living here for a while. So when we get back, it's going to be filthy."

"How long is this going to take, Father?" I felt nervous. What if it took me years? What about my friends?

"A week to a month, depending on your flux. You control your power output, so the longer it takes you to control it will be the longer you stay here."

Skulker walked to the portal, pressing a few buttons on the control pad. Two rings formed at his waist, turning him back into his ghost form. He was pale green, with flaming red hair and green eyes. He looked completely different from Father's ghost form. "I set it on a timer. The door will close behind us." He announced, stepping through the portal.

"Ready, son?" Father smiled.

"About as ready as ill ever be." I grinned nervously, trying to hide my unease.

"That's the spirit." He squeezed my shoulder before stepping through the portal.

I wasn't sure why I was so nervous. Perhaps because this was the portal to another world? Another dimension? I took a deep breath and stepped through the portal. The energy passing over me felt just like a shift from human to ghost. I took view of the Ghost World for the first time:

Instead of blue skies, the sky was green. The ground under my feet had the greenest grass I had ever seen, with trees lining the path. I stepped forward, and the portal closed behind me. I walked up the path, a house in the distance coming closer and closer with every step. It was a cozy looking house, with faded blue walls. It was one story, with a white roof and white shudders on the windows. There was a white picket fence around the property. At my footsteps, three ghosts turned to see me. Two of them were Father and Skulker, with the third being who I assumed Ember was. She had long blue hair, light blue skin, and kind green eyes. She had her hand resting on her stomach, where I could see a small baby bump forming.

I walked forward. "Congrats, Ember."

She smiled. "Thank you, Daniel. I'm just hoping it's not twins. It seems like it's a habit in your family." She eyed the two men with a playfulness in her eyes.

"Apperently Father has a lot to tell me about our family, hmm? It seems like until today i didn't even know where Uncle Skulker lived. I assumed he was somewhere in Wisonsin."

Father coughed a bit. "Well, yes, Daniel. You never asked."

"I just assumed someday you'd tell me." I crossed my arms.

"You know, I just noticed." Ember stroked my hair. "Where does this white hair come from? I have never seen a ghost with white hair!"

"His mother's ghost side had white hair." Father replies. "I never expected Daniel to have white hair, either. It's an extremely rare trait."

I scowled. "Well, yes. But isn't green or blue hair uncommon?"

"No. Not entirely. They're just less common than black hair." Ember shrugs. "Just like how brown hair is the more dominant color in the Human World."

"You haven't told this boy anything have you?" Skulker punched Father in his arm softly. "I'm already a better father than you, Vladimir!"

"Oh shut up Skulker!" Father growled.

"Make me!" He got right in Father's face. "Or are you scared?"

Father growled, and punched Skulker in the face. Ember face palmed, and I cheered Father on. The two wrestled without using their powers, just using their fists. I noticed that their technique was advanced, probably more skilled than I knew. Man. I knew that Uncle wouldn't let me out of this 1v1 fight I promised him. Perhaps I could become all powerful and prove myself.

I looked at Ember. "Do they do this a lot?"

"Once a week." She sighs. "Can you pull them apart before they hurt each other?"

I nodded. I grabbed Father around the waist, pulling him far away from Skulker. He struggled in my grip, but I held him tight. "That's enough!" I yelled. "You two are grown men bickering like children!"

"I think that was a little more than bickering." Ember giggled.

"Doesn't matter. The two of you need to stop!"

"Daniel. Let the grown ups handle this." Father glared at Skulker.

My mouth fell open. "The grown ups? Who just pulled your asses apart? Fine, knock each other's fangs out I don't care." I scowled.

"No. The kid's right." Skulker rolled his arm, popping his shoulder into place. "As much fun as it is to kick your ass little brother, we need to be careful."

"Careful about what?" I frowned. "Do you two ever tell the truth?"

"I'll tell you later, Daniel." Father put his hand on my shoulder.

"You'll tell me now! What aren't you telling me?"

"Daniel, your mother is in jail. Walker's put her down for execution."


	9. New abilities

"What?!" What the fuck? What the fuck? "How could you have been keeping this from me, Father? Is that why you wouldn't tell me where she was?"

"Daniel. It's complicated." He sighed.

"No its not. All you have to do is tell me what happened!"

"Daniel. Drop it." His voice was laced with warning.

"No! Goddamnit why don't you trust me to tell me what happened?!" My voice shook with fury.

"You're too young, too pure." He sighed. "Please drop it, Daniel."

"You brought it up. Why. Won't. You. Tell. Me?"

Father looked extremely uncomfortable, but I was too angry to care. "Alright, Daniel. You win." He sighed. He walked away from the house, intending for me to follow him.

I followed him out, my anger getting the best of me. When he turned to see me, I didn't expect to see him looking so… broken. Father had always been a proud man. He never let anything stop him. I immediately stopped being angry, and felt terrible. "Father?"

He held up his hand, effectively stopping me. "You're right. You have a right to know, my boy. I've been keeping secrets for years. Since Madeline."

I stopped cold. "What?" My sense of dread increased.

"After Madeline had her episode and was killed, your mother and I never got along since. We have had our fights, but we kept you out of it. You were only 11 when you lost your sibling, and I lost my daughter. Times have been tough."

"Yes." I agreed. "Madeline was my best friend. I could tell her about anything. I miss her terribly. She had a sense of wonder and was always willing to help anyone out. This world is a darker place without her in it." My heart grew heavy thinking of my sister.

"Your mother and I were soul mates. I was confident that we would work it out. Until the last day we were in Gleset. You left for school that morning. Your mother had always hated everything ghost. She was always at war with her ghost side, but kept it at bay due to the love of her children. Madeline's death killed us all in a way." He sighed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Father. I had no idea." I sighed.

"We kept it hidden very well. The day you left for school, your mother and I had another fight. This time, she couldn't control her anger. Her ghost side killed her human side, and attacked me. I escaped, and I called Warden Walker. He came with a squad of guards, and fought her until they could contain her. They destroyed the house. I knew we were no longer safe there, since the ghost that your mother had become knew where we lived. If she ever escaped, she would come after us with all she had. I couldn't risk it. I'm so sorry, Daniel."

I hugged him tightly. "It's not your fault. You were protecting me."

"I've always been protecting you. Even if you don't realize it. We only have each other left."

"We have Uncle Skulker too, Father. He's family also. His and Ember's baby, too." I smiled. "They'll be great parents, you know."

"I know." Father smiled. "Skulker is a huge jerk, but he's a big softie."

"Must be far down." I frowned. "He's a major asshole."

"Takes one to know one." He winked.

I gaped. "You did not just call me an asshole."

"I don't curse, it makes you look stupid. But yes. My boy, you are an asshole." He closed my mouth for me.

"You're kidding, right."

"No. Daniel, have you noticed that you're a bully?" He crossed his arms. "I did not raise you to be a bully."

"But Father, it's not fun to be the underling. I like having my minions." I frowned. "I'm starting to make a name at this school."

"Daniel. Do you want to be remembered as a hero, or as a villain?" He looked into my eyes. "You're growing up. You're a Plasmius, you're going to make a name for yourself here in the Ghost World, or in the Human World as a Masters. It's all up to you."

I frowned. "I'll make a name for myself. I'll make you proud."

"You already have." He smiled. "Let's get back to your Uncle, hmm?"

As we strolled back to the house, I had a lot on my mind. I had never realized to the extent of my bullying till now. The kids at Rutherford pretty much worshiped me because of my money, so were they really my friends at all? I thought back to the texts I'd seen on my phone after being out for a week. Sam and Tucker had called every day for about four days, while nobody from Wisconsin called or texted at all. Did this mean Father was right?

Skulker and Ember had gone inside the house. We walked through the door, and I saw Skulker reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of green coffee. It just looked gross. "I see you eyeing my coffee, pup. Want the brew of a man?"

"How is coffee for men?" I responded. "Most people who drink it are women."

"Ah. But ghost coffee is different, Daniel. Ghost coffee is infused with hard liquor that stimulates your ghost side. Come on, take a sip." He wiggled his cup.

I looked to Father. "Do what you want." He laughed. "It should be fun to watch."

I scowled. "I don't trust you two. Pass."

"Suit yourself." Skulker shrugged. He took a big sip, and as the coffee went down his throat his body grew a little lighter. Eventually, the glow died down and was absorbed into his ghostly white hue.

"Huh." I mused. "Ghost bodies are weird."

"Ghosts themselves are weird too." Ember pipes up. She was drinking water, her hand resting on her baby bump.

"Just wait till you meet my father, Daniel. You two are a lot alike." Father smiles at me.

"You said he was the Ghost King, right?" Father nodded. "So that makes me the King's grandson? Cool!"

Father laughed. "Daniel, you're a riot, you know that right? When you're done with puberty, you'll meet my father and get your own ceremony. Every ghost that reaches maturity gets their own ceremony."

"Will everyone be there?" I asked. "The entire Kingdom?"

"The three Kingdoms will be there." Ember smiles.

"Three?" I glared at Father.

"Daniel, we're not starting this again. I'll tell you everything you ask, but without the malice." He sighed. "I'm sorry I never told you our history."

I scowled. I had no idea why I felt so damned moody about everything. I crossed my arms. "Fine."

"Damn! He's moody." Skulker laughed without a care in the world. "Probably just part of the puberty."

"You guys act like this is normal." I raised an eyebrow.

"Because it is, Daniel." Father responds. "Puberty is a natural process; it determines who you'll be for life."

"Hopefully I don't change too much." I shrugged. "I'd hate to look like that." I looked at Skulker.

"What about me, whelp?" Skulker banged his fists on the table. "You got a problem with me?"

"No. I was referring to your flaming green hair. It's tacky." I raised an eyebrow. "But now that you mention it, I have a problem with how you're so damned cocky!"

"You must have some balls, short stack." Skulker responds. "Thinking you can talk to me like that! Vladimir, what have you taught this damned boy?"

"I never taught him to badmouth his elders." Father looked at me. "Calm down, Daniel. We're all family here!"

I hissed, exposing my new fangs. My eyes glowed a brighter green. I heard Father stifle his laugher, but I didn't care enough to respond to it.

"Oh my god he sounds like a cat!" Ember laughed wholeheartedly. "It's so cute!"

I closed my mouth. "Fuck all of you!" I got up from my chair, walking out of the kitchen. I had never been in the house before, so I had no idea where the training room was. I felt my control slipping—I knew I needed to get away before I lost control of my powers. I opened a door and saw a set of stairs. I went down the stairs, and looked around at the bottom. It was a large gray room, which was completely empty except for three dummies at the far wall.

I fell to my knees. I felt something attacking my mind. I screamed, trying to let out the energy. I put my hands over my ears, and started to float. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that the dummies on the wall were floating, along with debris from the walls. I must've been doing my ghostly wail when I screamed. I felt energy all around me, and while it was comforting, I let go of it. Immediately, everything fell on the ground as gravity kicked back in. However, I stayed floating. Was this a new superpower?

"Daniel!" Father busted down the door. "What the fuck was that?"

I gaped. First of all, Father cussed. He never does that. Secondly, what was he talking about?

"Daniel!" Father grabbed my face, trying to get my attention. "Son, talk to me!"

"Uh. What was what?" I asked innocently.

"Gravity cut out! Was that you doing that? And I heard a scream, and I know that one was you." He looked into my eyes. "Daniel. Come back to me, please."

"What are you talking about, Father?" I asked him. "I feel fine."

"You're basically see through." He replies. "Focus. Come back to me."

I looked down at my hands. I could see right through them. I used my control, and willed myself back together. It felt like I was trying to teleport with no destination. "Father, what's happening to me? I'm scared."

"You have to control your powers." He pleaded.

"I'm trying, Father!" I half-yelled. "It feels like there's too much. I can't hold all this energy."

"Expel it. Light your hands with energy and blast the dummies."

My hands lit up with energy, and instead of a weak blast aimed at the dummies, it was a very strong blast from each hand. I felt tears running down my face. My hands hurt so bad, and my throat did also. "F-father. I can't handle this."

"Yes you can. You're stronger than you know, little badger." He tilted my head up so I looked in his eyes. "Control it. I know you can."

My core pulsed, kind of like a beating heart. Slowly but surely, I drew my powers back inside me, and the fire in my hands died down. I still cried. My core was unbearable hot. I wrapped Father in a protective bubble, ignoring his cries of alarm. I expelled the energy in one huge wave and felt immediately better. I fell back down to my knees, since I had been floating. I let Father out of his bubble, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"I knew you could do it, Daniel. I had faith in you."

"Father. Was that me actually controlling gravity?" I took a breath in, trying to calm my beating core.

"I think so, son. I've never seen anyone controlling gravity before." He smiled, one of those smiles that reached your eyes.

I shakily got to my feet. "Let's hope a scene like that doesn't happen again." I sighed.

"You'd better hope, twerp!" Skulker thundered down the stairs. "You're destroying my house already!"

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I lost control."

"Obviously." He stood in front of me, glaring down at me. At the look on my face, he must've felt pity. "This room is reinforced. A few tweaks and it'll be good as new. Chin up, boy." He smiled.

I frowned. "You're not mad?"

"No. You controlled it in the end. What was that new power? Gravity control?"

"I think so." I smiled. "It was comforting."

"Perhaps a form of energy manipulation?" Father looked to Skulker.

"Maybe. It might be built off his wail." Skulker shrugged.

"Good or bad?" Both men turned to look at me as I spoke.

"Good. You're going to be a strong ghost!" Skulker patted my shoulder.

"I've always been strong." I frowned. "Before spending a week unconscious I had a ripped six pack."

"Prove it." Skulker smirked.

I lifted my shirt to see I still had a six pack. Nice.

"Dork." He shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You two really are twins." I face palmed. "So, when do I get to meet King Gramps?"

Father looked at his watch. "In about an hour. He wanted to see you right away."

"How long have we been here?"

"Maybe two hours." Skulker shrugged. "I haven't been keeping track."

"I guess I'll put on something nice." I gestured to my shorts and tank top.

"Your Father moved your stuff here a few days ago. Your room is on the left of the kitchen." He headed back upstairs. "I need more coffee…"

"It's not coffee. It's liquor." I laughed.

"Liquor to humans leads to alcohol poisoning. Alcohol to ghosts just makes them more alert." Father replies.

"Ergo, ghost coffee." I shrugged. "So what's the ghost world equivalent to alcohol? Anything spiked enough to get you drunk?"

"No. Alcohol gets processed too fast for ghosts to get drunk." Father replied.

"Damn!" I scowled. "Reaching ghost maturity and I still can't drink."

"You're not 21." Father raised an eyebrow at me. "You can't drink anyway."

"I'm a rebel." I smiled.

"Daniel. How often have you been drinking?"

"Since we moved to Amity Park, none. I would go out with Lynn and Noah three times a week to drink at Rutherford." I shrugged. "We never did any driving or anything like that. We'd just get super drunk and watch comedy movies."

"Well, at least you're smart about it. I can't handle another scandal regarding you." He shook his head. "Let's go get ready. You're going to meet the King."


	10. Family

After I showered and changed, I met Ember down in the kitchen. I had slicked back my hair, and had dressed in black pants and a long black shirt, with a hooded cloak over top of it. Father had laid the outfit out for me. The cloak was black, with light green flames on the bottom of the cape. I found it incredibly cool. The inside of the hood was dark green, and lined with satin. I buttoned up the cloak, leaving the food off for now.

"Looking snazzy, Daniel." Ember smiled warmly, straightening my collar on the cloak.

"Thank you, Ember." I smiled.

"You're welcome!" She sat down in a chair, watching the TV in the corner of the counter. Ghosts had TVs?

"You're not coming?"

"Oh, heavens no." She laughed lightly. "King Pariah hates my soul."

"What? But you're so sweet!"

She frowned, looking sad. "He thinks I'm deceiving Skulker by being kind. I would never hurt my husband."

"Have you tried telling him that?"

"Of course, Daniel. He thinks he's protecting his sons, but he's not. He's hurting them."

"Them? You mean he hates my mother, too?" I frowned. "Who doesn't this dude hate?"

"He doesn't hate you or Skulker or Vladimir." She frowned. "He may be a kind and gentle King, but he can be very crude."

"I think I'm liking him less and less." I sighed.

"Oh, Daniel. You have to make your own assumptions. You can't take my word for it." Ember sounded very sad.

"You sound upset, Ember. What's going on?" I took her hand. "I won't tell anyone."

"It's silly, but since Skulker and I married, Pariah hasn't spoken to him. I think he may want Skulker to forfeit the throne to Vladimir because of my marriage to him."

"That's just stupid! Why would he do that?" A thought popped into my head. "Is he one of those ghosts that think males are superior?"

"Most males think that way, Daniel." She smiled lightly. "I think you would make a fine King someday."

"I don't want to be King." I shook my head. "Politics is not my thing."

"It is our way of life for women to be submissive, Daniel. You have to understand that."

"I just don't get it. Males aren't better just because they're men. I know some kickass women." I smiled fondly, thinking of Sam. Where did that thought come from?

"Perhaps in your world." She sighed. "Let's not talk about this anymore, Daniel."

I crossed my arms. How could this dude not like someone who was so kind like Ember? She had dodged my question about him hating my mother, also. Was It because she was also a kind soul? Did he think he was protecting his sons by keeping them away from seeking love?

I heard talking, and I turned to see Father and Skulker walking into the kitchen. They were dressed similarly, but the difference was their cloaks. They both were wearing long black shirts with black pants, but the similarities stopped there. Father was wearing a black cloak with red flames from the bottom of it that danced up to the hood. Skulker was wearing a solid white cloak with blue icicles floating towards the hood. They both had their hoods on their heads.

"Why is your cloak so different from ours, Skulker?" I frowned. It didn't make much sense to me.

"The cloaks signify our core." Father explained before Skulker could speak. "You and I have hot cores, Skulker has a cold core."

"What?" My mouth gaped. "How the hell do you have a cold core? You're the biggest asshole I know."

Skulker laughed, while Father looked uncomfortable. "Daniel, I thought we discussed this." Father spoke slowly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we did. However, I choose to ignore it."

"He really is your son, Vladimir." Skulker laughed. "I remember you being just like him when we were younger."

"Bullshit. Father was never a rebel."

"Should I show him The Picture?" Skulker eyed Father mischievously.

Father paled. "NO!" He yelled. "You will not show him that picture!"

"What picture?" I asked. If it got that bad of a reaction from Father, it must be a funny picture.

Skulker smiled mischievously. "Wait here." He teleported out of the room.

Father cursed, a colorful assortment of words I couldn't even fathom. He teleported out of the room, and I could hear them fighting from the other side of the house. Skulker teleported back into the kitchen with a wrinkled, tattered photo. He shoved it into my hands before I could even say anything. I was looking at it when Father returned.

"Daniel, give me that photo."

"No." I smiled.

In the photo, was a very much so younger Father. He was in his ghost form. His black hair was buzzed short, with a Mohawk on the top. The tips of the Mohawk were dyed green, which contrasted against his blue skin. His red eyes showed brightly from the photo. He had his tongue sticking out, and I could see a tongue piercing in his tongue. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his pants were black with holes ripped into the fabric. He was wearing black combat boots to match the look.

"This is golden!" I laughed.

"DANIEL!" Father yelled, distracting me. In a flash, he grabbed the photo out of my hand and burned it. "Amateur."

I scowled. "Father. You looked so cool in that picture!"

"That was just a phase." Father blushed, green blood rushing to his face.

"It lasted five years." Skulker replied casually.

"A. PHASE." Father states, drowning out Skulker's words.

I smiled widely. "Sure, Father. Whatever you say."

Father looked furious. "I will kill you, Skulker! That part of my life if behind me."

"Yeah. And now you're a stiff prick." Skulker shook his head sadly. "We used to get along so much better."

"You're right. I wonder why we don't get along anymore?" Father mused.

"Probably because you're both assholes." I paused. "Okay. We're all assholes."

Father sighed. "Daniel."

I put my hands up. "Not sorry."

Skulker was looking at his watch. "Let's go, you two. We're late."

"Wouldn't be a Plasmius if we weren't." Family smiled.

We said our goodbyes to Ember, and Skulker led us outside, where a carriage was waiting. A ghost turned to look at us as we walked over to him. He was freakily tall, maybe 6"10, with long, flaming purple hair that flowed down his back. He had vibrant green eyes and had moderate blue skin, and was wearing a short sleeved black shirt with matching pants that showed his muscles.

"Good morning, Plasmius'." The ghost spoke.

"Good morning, Fright Knight." Skulker replied. "How do you do?"

"It's always a delight to bring the royal family back home." Fright Knight responds.

I raised an eyebrow. "This dude is stiff." I responded. "Is he like a servant or something?"

"Daniel do you ever not speak your mind?" Father sighed.

"What? It was an honest question." I shrugged.

Fright knight studied me. He had a scowl on his face, but it was impossible to know what he was thinking. He reached over to me and pulled my hood over my head.

"Ha. Whoops." I smiled.

"Although it's not like we know who is who under the hood, it is proper procedure to keep the hood drawn to ward off any attackers." Fright Knight crossed his arms. "I am here to serve as your protection in any case of an attack."

"Makes sense."

Fright Knight sat in the front of the carriage, opening the door for us as he did so. We all hopped in, and Father shut the door behind him as he climbed in. I looked out the window. The Ghost World was very pretty in its own way. The landmasses were separated on islands, which was kind of eerie. Everything glowed with a white hue. I pulled out my cellphone and took pictures of the scenery. Father and Skulker were talking, but I wasn't really listening. My phone had no signal, of course. The only people I'd show the pictures to are Sam and Tucker. I wonder what they were doing now?

I looked over to Father and Skulker. They were talking happily, but it was hard to see their faces with their hoods up. I sighed. It didn't sound like this 'Pariah' was a nice dude. It made me wonder what he was actually like.

Thirty or so minutes later, we pulled up on a huge castle. The castle was white, and had its own landmass. The shadows got brighter as we got closer to it from the huge amount of ghosts standing outside. They cheered as we got closer. We pulled to the edge of the mass, and we stepped out, me being the last to do so. Father put his hands on my shoulders, steering me through the crowd to the stage.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of ghosts that turned out. There were easily 500 ghosts here. Father had mentioned that three kingdoms were here. Would the differences be obvious, or would I just have to automatically assume who was who?

On stage, there were two huge thrones, with two ghosts sitting in them. There were three chairs to the right of the thrones. When we got closer, I noticed that the two ghosts were a man and a woman. The man stood up to greet us. He was about 6"6, and was incredibly buff. He had pale blue skin, flaming green hair, and bright green eyes. He spread his arms wide. "Welcome!" He spoke. His voice was deep, and it carried through the crowd.

Father and Skulker lowered their hoods when they got to the stage. I did the same. I smiled nervously.

"Welcome, my boys." Pariah smiled widely.

"Nice to see you, Father." Father bowed, and took his seat.

"Good seein' ya, dad." Skulker smiled. He took his seat.

Pariah turned to look at me. I gulped nervously. "Uh, nice to meet you, Mr. King, sir." I smiled.

Pariah laughed loudly. "I like you! You're funny!"

I laughed nervously. "Thank you, sir."

"You don't need to 'sir' me, my boy. Just call me Pariah." He took me by the shoulders, steering me to face the crowd. "We gathered here today to celebrate young Daniel's becoming of a man!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Pariah raised a hand to shush them. "It's not every day that a Royal becomes a man. This is a very special occasion. We have much to celebrate. We celebrate each other, but most importantly, we celebrate family. Our families help keep us humble, and kind. I know many of you personally, and I cherish each and every one of you that showed up here today. This celebration is not only young Daniel's becoming of a man. I have an announcement to make." Pariah smiled. He gestured to his wife, who stood up and walked over to us. She had pale green skin, long black hair and red eyes. Pariah took her by the hand, releasing his hold on my shoulders. I took my seat and watched.

"Today, My wife Desiree and I decided to step down from the throne. We have been ruling for 200 years, and we decided we want to take a more simple life."

I looked over to Father and Skulker, who both looked shocked. It was obvious that nobody knew.

"My eldest son, Skulker Plasmius, shall take the throne starting next week. He will have one week to prepare, and him and his wife Ember shall rule."

The crowd cheered wildly. Skulker was completely shocked, with his jaw hanging low. I reached over and shut it for him. He nodded his thanks.

"Now! Time for celebration!" Pariah clapped his hands and left the stage.

Father and Skulker drew their hoods, and copied them, doing the same. "Why do we have to put our hoods up again, Father?" I asked. "We're not being transported again, are we?"

"No, my boy. We're putting them up so that we can go to the celebration. It's customary to only have them down when we're in sight of the public." Father led the way through the crowd.

We went inside the castle. The glow from the castle was so bright it hurt my eyes. When we got into the castle, we saw a red carpet leading up to two sets of stairs. Instead of going up the stairs, we turned right and went into a large room. There were buffet tables on the left, pressed up against the wall, with the rest of the room filled with round tables. There was one square table over by a small stage. Pariah took his seat at the middle of the square table while the rest of the ghosts filled in.

A tall man floated over to us. He had light blue skin, long gray hair and red eyes. He extended his hand to me. "Good morning, Daniel. My name is Aragon."

"Hello, Aragon." I took his hand and shook it. "How do you do?"

"I am well." He smiled lightly. "You know, I had no idea that Vladimir had a son at all! It was quite the shock."

Father laughed. "Well, when we announced his birth, it was quite some time ago, when the Kingdom was at unease. We decided it wasn't a good idea to bring him here for a ceremony until things called down."

"I understand, Vladimir." Aragon smiled kindly. "I would've done the same in your shoes."

"You have a daughter, right Aragon?" Father asked. "Her name is Dora, right?"

"Yes. Dorathea." He smiled. "She's a few years younger than Daniel, of course. She should be around here somewhere."

"I look forward to meeting her." I smiled kindly.

"Let me call her." Aragon says. He tapped his watch, pressing a few buttons. A few minutes later, a little girl comes up to us. She had green skin, with red eyes and blonde hair.

"Hello, Father. Hello, Prince Vladimir and Daniel." She bowed respectfully.

I felt kind of sad. She sounded like a drone. "Hello, Dorathea." I shook her hand. She seemed a bit shocked, but she shook my hand nothertheless.

"He even respects women." Aragon laughed. "Boy Vladimir, what have you been teaching this boy?"

"Times are changing, Aragon." Father responded kindly. "We need to adapt."

"I don't see that happening, Vladimir. Not in my kingdom." He points his nose in the air. "Come, Dorathea."

She nodded, but smiled at me one last time. I waved goodbye to her as she left, and she waved back. I heard beeping off in the distance. I heard cries of alarm, and an oddly shaped object hurled through the crowd. It was coming straight at me. It was shaped like a bent elbow, and solid metal. There was a blinking light on it that blinked red. As it approached me, the crowd gasped. Before anyone could move, I caught it. It had a green F on the side. The light rapidly blinked red, and then it turned to solid green.

I turned to Father. He took the device from my hand, and was studying it. "What is this?" He said quietly.

"Stop!" A guard was flying through the crowd. The crowd parted, and Phantom stood there. Her white hair was messy, and her red eyes were wide. She was being cornered by guards on all sides. Her hands lit up with green energy.

"Stop!" Pariah got to his feet. "Stop, I command you!"

Sam looked over at us. Father was still holding the device, and her eyes locked with it. She dashed over to him, but was restrained by guards before she could even move. She struggled against them with all her might.

Something of my own will drew me forward. Father hissed my name, trying to grab my arm but I just phased it out of his grip. I walked forward until I was right in front of Sam. She drew back from me, clearly terrified of what I could do. I did the only thing I could do. I lowered my hood. When I spoke, my voice was full of surprise:

"What the hell are you doing here?"


	11. Discoveries

The guards backed away and bowed. "My prince. What shall we do with her?" One spoke.

I looked over to Father. I couldn't see his face from his hood being drawn, but I knew he wasn't pleased. I looked back to the guard. "I'll take care of her." Using my powers, I conjured a pair of handcuffs, and slapped them on her wrists. I looked over to Pariah, who nodded. I escorted her back through the crowd, opting to float instead of walk. I rounded the corner and saw the two sets of stairs. I took the one on the left, and when we got to the top, Sam, who was so shocked, started speaking rapidly in English.

"Prince? What's going on, Daniel? You've been missing for months! My dad made this boomerang and I used it to track you-"

"Sam." I stopped her. "Shut the fuck up."

"But Daniel-"

"Shh!" I put my hand over her mouth. "Do you know what you've just done?"

She shook her head. She wrestled her head away from my hand. "Maybe if you took the time to explain it to me we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place! You never told me what's going on, and what you're doing in the Ghost Zone!"

"Ghost Zone?" I raised an eyebrow. "It's the Ghost World, Sam. This is not a zone, it's a separate world."

"Separate world? So we're on another planet?"

"No. We're in another dimension, Sam. The Ghost World is the flipside of our universe. We're in Earth's part right now, but if we went further out eventually we'd run into Mars, Jupiter, et cetera." I shrugged. I continued pulling her forward, and eventually we went through a set of double doors. The room was large, with jailing cells on the right side. Sam stopped moving, digging her heels in the ground. I turned around.

"No! No! Daniel! I'm sorry! Don't jail me!" She was struggling against he bounds.

"It's only temporary. When I talk to my grandfather, I will take all responsibility for you, and then you will be released."

"But why jail?"

"I told you. Sam, you're public enemy number one. I specifically didn't tell you where I was so you wouldn't do something stupid like crashing a celebration and trying to find me!" I sighed. "But this is all my fault in the first place. I should've never told you I was a ghost."

Her face fell. "Don't say that."

"No. I asked you earlier, and I'll repeat: do you know what you've just done?" She shook her head. "You have just caught a royal: me, as knowing you, and now I will be slandered by the three kingdoms, and possibly enemy number two. Depends on what the King thinks. I'm going to go back and find out now."

"What have I done?" Her voice was quiet.

"That is the question isn't it, Sam? Now, we have to get out of this mess." I scowled. I pushed her inside a cell, and the handcuffs disappeared from her wrists as soon as I closed the door.

"Daniel!" She shrieked. "Don't leave me here! Come back! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Sam. I really am." I sighed, drawing my hood back over my face. I teleported back down to the celebration, to my seat on stage. I probably should have just walked, but I couldn't handle her screams. Father started, since he had been sitting beside my chair when I teleported back.

"Daniel!" Father hissed.

"What?"

He made an aggravated noise. "You clean up this mess. This one is all on you."

"I have a plan, Father. I'll tell you later." I whispered. I hoped it would work, but with every passing minute I grew less and less confident. The celebration felt forced now, but when you have a criminal crash it, these things tend to happen.

After the celebration, I went over to Pariah. "Grandfather." I smiled, but I was sure he couldn't see it from under my hood.

"Couldn't help but notice your friend, my boy." He laughed.

"Yeah." I sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about her."

"She had a lot of nerve crashing a celebration. The entire Kingdom knew about it. Why would she show up if she knew she was a wanted criminal, and try to attack you?" Pariah scratched his chin. "Truly a mystery we have here, Daniel."

"She doesn't know ghost customs, Grandfather. She's a created ghost."

"Created?" His eyes widened. "Are you absolutely sure, Daniel?"

"Positive. Human parents. I got the hint that she had some sort of accident, but she hasn't said a word on it. Why, is it important?"

"Very. Follow me." He lead the way through the remnants of the crowd, to the library. He passed into the forbidden section. The books were stacked to the ceiling, and it was so dusty that if I were breathing, I'd be gagging. There was only a weak light in here, so I lit my hand up with red energy to make light.

"Aha. Here it is." He rounded the corner, taking a book down from the middle shelf. He blew the dust off of it, turning to a marked page. He shoved the book into my hands.

The book was written in ancient ghost speak, but I could decipher it. I read:

 __

 _When the day comes that kingdoms collide, a miscommunication shall bring forth the fall of a false god._

 _When the time comes that siblings rival, a white haired man shall bring forth an age of kinship and the downfall of two kingdoms._

 _When the sun turns dark, a sudden death shall bring forth the downfall of an empire._

 _When the world becomes shrouded in shadows, the prophet shall usher forth a new life and a reunion of enemies._

 _Only by the hand of a created can an embarrassing defeat cause an end to our suffering._

"Holy shit." I breathed. "So, someone's going to die?"

"Yes, Daniel. It seems like a time of war is upon us."

"But Grandfather, ghosts can't die!" I closed the book with a snap.

"It is difficult to kill a ghost, yes. But ghosts can die." Pariah sighed. "It's easier if they haven't reached maturity yet. Like you. You have hit puberty, but you are still growing. You can still be killed until your maturity peak. It is why we protect our young with a fierceness. Once you reach maturity, you'd be a candidate for King."

"Grandfather, no offense, but I don't want to be King. It's too much of a burden."

"Yes, it is. But it is very rewarding. As a Prince, you still have a lot of leeway into what happens around the Kingdom. "

I scowled. "So it seems like Sam plays a role into what happens with our kingdom. So I've got to get her trained ASAP if we have any chance."

"It seems so." Pariah was silent for a minute. "I will pardon her for her ghost fighting crimes. But, you will take full responsibility for her. Every wrong thing she does will be on you."

"I guess that's fair. Thank you, Grandfather."

"You have to put that woman in her place, boy. Before it's too late." He chuckled softly. "Desiree is a feisty woman. It's one of the reasons I've chosen to spend eternity with her."

"But if she's feisty, does that mean she's fully in her place?" I shook my head. "Besides, women are meant to be equals, not submissive." I thought of Ember. How would she fare being Queen?

"You have it all wrong, my boy. Women were created to be submissive. It's in their DNA. That human world is corrupting you! You need to spend more time in the Ghost World." Pariah shook his head sadly. "But alas. You need to free your friend."

"She's going to be pissed."

"Just remember what I said. Put her in her place." He patted my shoulder, walking off.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. There was no way I'd put Sam in her place. She'd try to kick my ass. I teleported outside the jail door, scaring the crap out of a guard. He stood to attention.

"Prince Daniel, sir!" He put his hand on his forehead.

"Oh my god." I face palmed. "Don't call me sir." I walked into the room, where I could hear Sam screaming bloody murder. I walked up to the front of her cell and waited. Eventually she stopped and saw me standing there. "You done?" I raised an eyebrow, switching back to English. "My eardrums can take worse."

"Where the hell have you been, Daniel? When I get out of here I'm going to kick your ass!" She yelled.

"Oh man, such a shame." I replied, my voice sounding monotone. I opened the cell. "Don't do anything stupid. I'll explain later."

"I'm holding you to that." She scowled. "What's with the freaky hood anyway?"

"Freaky? It's cool!" I pouted, although I knew she shouldn't see it with my hood drawn.

She reached over and pulled the hood off my head. "You look different."

 _He looks a lot cuter. Damn it! Why am I still having these thoughts?_

I was hearing her voice in my head again. Great. More things to listen to. I smirked. She had a light blush creeping across her cheeks. "Have something to say to me?"

"Nope." Her blush turned deeper as she turned her head.

I raised an eyebrow. Fine. I wasn't going to force her to admit that she had a crush on me. I could tell from the first time that we met that she did. "So how do I look different?" I changed the topic.

"I can't describe it. You just look different. Maybe ghostly puberty makes you more handsome." She put her hand over her mouth.

I was not going to let her out of this one. "You think I'm handsome, hmm?"

"No!" She buried her face in her hands.

"It's okay. I'll keep your secret." I smirked. "We need to get going, though."

"Where are we going?" Her voice was full of relief.

"To my Uncle's house. We've got to start you on your training." I smiled. "We're going to start with your ghost speak. My Aunt doesn't speak English, and my Uncle's is very rubbish."

"Is it hard?" She asked. "I'm no good at foreign language."

"You're going to have to learn. Along with ghost customs." I sighed. I decided not to tell her about the prophecy. "You're a ghost now, whether you like it or not. You have to learn."

"You're right." She sighed. "Can we go? I don't like looking at these jail cells."

I shrugged. "Sure." I took her by the hand and teleported the pair of us to the castle's entrance. She looked disoriented. "It'll pass. First time teleporting is disorienting." I let go of her hand, but she grabbed it right back. I shrugged. We walked over to the carriage that was waiting. The carriage was empty. Everyone must've already left.

"Wait." Sam says. "We have a vehicle."

"How?" I frowned. I turned to look at her.

"The Specter speeder! It's how I got here." She walked to the right, letting go of my hand. When we stopped, we were standing in an open field. I didn't even know the castle grounds were this big.

"Okay. What am I looking at?" I frowned. "If you brought me out here to waste my time—"

"No! Look." She reached forward, and a spaceship-like object appeared from thin air.

I stared at it, dumbfounded. It looked like a mini spaceship, which was panted white and green, with an F on the side. "What the fuck? This looks like scrap metal! What's with the F?"

"We can't all be millionaires." She shook her head. "The F stands for Fenton, of course. My last name."

"This looks lame." I climbed in after her gingerly, almost afraid it was going to fall apart. I looked around. There were two chairs, one behind the wheel and the other to the right. The rest of the ship had buttons up the wall. I sat on the seat on the right, and let her drive. I had never driven a ship before, just expensive BMWs.

"Maybe Mr. Rich should buy a new one then! Then we could drive yours." She elbowed my arm.

"First off, in the Ghost World, my last name is Plasmius. So it's Mr. Plasmius. Secondly, you would never drive anything I own. My Father would never let you." I shook my head. "Besides. Ghosts normally use carriages around the Ghost World when the distance is long."

"How long is it until we get to your Uncles house?"

"About an hour or two by carriage. By this wreck, about twenty minutes." I buckled in the seatbelt, as many of them as there were.

 _This is ridiculous. He's acting like I'm going to kill him._

I scowled. "I'm going to die today." I leaned back into the seat. "And ghosts can't even die."

"Wait, really?" she stopped and looked at me. "Ghosts can't die?"

"Almost impossible." I stated matter of fact.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Now drive!" I half-yelled.

"Fine." She scowled.

We drove along for while, every so often me telling her to change directions. Eventually, we pulled into my Uncle's house. I unbuckled the seatbelts, and leaped out of the ship. "Sweet, sweet ground!" I yelled.

I heard a door slam. My Father ran out to us, looking furious. He spoke quickly in ghost speak, his words getting angrier and angrier as he spoke. "Daniel. What took you so long to get here? We were all worried sick! What are you doing here with _her?_ Didn't my father tell you she's a criminal?"

"Father." I held up a hand. "Grandfather has pardoned her of all crimes. She is no longer a criminal. And aren't you the one who told me to stay close to her in the first place? It's the only reason we moved to Amity Park in the first place!"

"Daniel you can't throw my words in my face-"

"No, Father! Listen to me! Listen to me for once in your life!" I crossed my arms. "Grandfather told me something. He gave me a book." I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "I don't know what's happening. But whatever it is, it's bad! Apparently _she_ is the one that ends everything! It specifically states in the prophecy 'only by the hand of a _created'_ that's her, by the way—'can our suffering end'! Something bad is happening, Father."

"What is this rubbish? Prophecies? Are you alright, Daniel? Not on some ghost coffee?" He felt my forehead.

"Oh my god, Father, no." I pushed away his hand. "What I'm telling you is true! Please, you need to believe me! Read the book." I reached into my pocket, where the old book had been shrunk to fit. I expanded it with my power, and shoved it in his hands. "Read it."

"I'm not even going to ask how you learned to do that." He sighed.

Father walked back inside the house. I looked back over to Sam. I had completely forgotten she was out here with me. I walked back over to her. She was looking around. "This house is kind of cute." She said quietly.

"Yes, it is." I smiled, switching back to English. "I thought the same thing when I first saw it."

"You wouldn't expect houses in the Ghost Zone to be so.. homey."

"Ghost World, Sam." I corrected her.

She smiled meekly. "Sorry. I'm just so used to saying Ghost Zone, you know? It's hard." She ran her fingers through her white hair. "I need a shower."

I laughed. "I know you do. Let's go inside, hmm?" I led the way inside, holding the door open for her.

"Perfect gentlemen." She laughs.

I smiled. Ember, Skulker, and Father were sitting at the table. Father was sitting with the book open in front of him, reading the page I had marked. I took a seat beside Father. Sam took a seat on my other side. "Skulker, Ember," I gathered their attention, switching back to ghost speak. "This is my friend, Sam." I pointed to her and she waved.

Father coughed something that sounded a lot like 'girlfriend'. I ignored him.

Ember smiled, extending her hand to Sam. "How are you, Sam?"

Sam laughed nervously, shaking Ember's hand. "Uh, I don't actually speak your language."

Ember turned to look at me. "What did she say? It sounded like gibberish."

"She said she can't speak ghost speak. So I guess that makes me the translator." I scowled.

"That's okay! She's going to learn." Ember smiled kindly, clapping her hands. "I do love teaching ghosts!"

"Isn't she also a half-ghost?" Skulker asked.

"Yes. She looks a lot like me in her human form, but instead of blue eyes she has purple." I rolled my eyes.

"What are you saying?" Sam asks.

"I'm telling them you're half human also. And that you look something like me as a human." I shrugged, switching to English. "By the way, this is my Uncle Skulker and my Aunt Ember. Skulker is my father's brother."

"Oh. They don't look anything alike, though." She frowns, looking at the two brothers.

"One favors Grandmother, the other favors Grandfather." I shrugged. "Mr. and Mrs. King."

"So your grandfather is the one who spared my punishment, right?" She asked, scratching her chin.

"Yes." I responded slowly, wondering where she was going with it.

"Why would he spare me? You once told me that ghost fighting was a crime, punishable by 1,000 years jail time. Why me?"

I bit my lip. I didn't want to put too much pressure on her. Obviously, she noticed my hesitation. "What? What don't I know?"

I looked over to Father. He was still reading the book, and Skulker and Ember were talking amongst themselves. I sighed. It was now or never.


	12. Learning

"Sam, it might be best if we talk about this in private." I started to get up from my seat, but Father stopped me.

"You going to tell her?" He asked in ghost speak.

"Yes. I was going to tell her the full thing." I responded, switching over.

"Why don't you just wait?"

"Why? She has a right to know, Father. Something like this we can't keep from her." I sat back down. I already knew this was going to be a long conversation.

"Not forever. Just until we know exactly what role she plays." He looked down at the book. "Daniel, this prophecy mentions war. It sounds like its unavoidable."

"But what does this have to do with Sam?" I asked.

"She's a new ghost, Daniel. Easily swayed. I want to make sure that it'll be us who she fights for."

"But who are we up against, Father?" I frowned. "It never mentioned who."

"Of course, Daniel. This was made thousands of years ago."

"If it was made thousands of years ago, how do we know it's happening now?" I took the book from him, looking it over again.

 _When the day comes that kingdoms collide, a miscommunication shall bring forth the fall of a false god._

 _When the time comes that siblings rival, a white haired man shall bring forth an age of kinship and the downfall of two kingdoms._

 _When the sun turns dark, a sudden death shall bring forth the downfall of an empire._

 _When the world becomes shrouded in shadows, the prophet shall usher forth a new life and a reunion of enemies._

 _Only by the hand of a created can an embarrassing defeat cause an end to our suffering._

"White haired man?" I gasped. "Wait a second. Is that me?"

"I'm assuming so." His expression was unreadable.

"What's with the freaky book?" Sam started reaching toward the book, but Father pulled it from my hands before I could even move.

Sam was taken aback, but didn't react to it. She scowled. "Now I know you're hiding something from me. That was more proof." She crossed her arms.

"We're not hiding anything from you, Samantha." Father spoke in English.

"I know you are!" She banged her hands on the table, getting everyone's attention.

"Hey!" Skulker yelled. "How dare you pound on my table? You will answer me, woman!"

She leaned back into her chair, taking her hands off the table. "I'm sorry, sir, I have no idea what you said. I'm sorry for hitting the table."

Skulker looked at me expectantly. "She said she was sorry." I spoke. "Why's your English so bad, anyway?"

"Daniel, I haven't interacted in the Human World for 30 years. I have no use for that planet." Skulker shook his head.

"I guess that makes sense." I thought about it for a few minutes. When I was an adult, what was I going to do? What world would I make a name in?

"You're right, Daniel." Sam sighed. "I need to learn this language. I can't have you playing translator."

"Sam, it was inevitable for you to learn. Like I said. You're a ghost. You need to learn to be one." I got up from my chair. "Let's start you on language training. Then, once your mind is worn out, we'll start getting physical."

"I hope that means that you're training her hand to hand." Father spoke in ghost speak, hiding a laugh. "I don't need grandchildren yet."

I felt my face flush bright green. Skulker and Ember laughed, while Sam looked confused. "No, Father! You know what I meant!"

"Daniel, what did he say?" Sam pulled on my arm. When I looked at her, she saw my immense blush. "It was something about me, wasn't it?"

"Nope." I clamped my mouth shut, opening the door to the downstairs training room. I ran down the stairs without even waiting for Sam, but I still could hear Father and Skulker laughing. God, was this how it was going to be? See who could die of embarrassment first?

I walked over to a table in the corner that held different weight lifting equipment on it. I took off my cloak for the first time today, leaving myself in my long black shirt and pants. I put my cloak on the back of the chair. I picked up all the weighs and moved them to the floor. I didn't know where I'd find a pen and paper.

"Looking for something?" Sam held up paper and a pencil.

I looked over. "Yeah. I was just thinking about how I was going to find that." I took it from her, setting it on the table. "Let's start with the basics: your name."

For a while, things were going great. I had her saying her name perfectly, and then I had a evil idea. I started teaching her the curse words. I had to stop myself from laughing.

"Hey, Father!" I yelled up the stairs. "Sam wants someone to practice on!"

Father walked down the stairs, grumbling. "If she didn't need to learn, I wouldn't bother." He sighed, speaking in English. "Let's hear it."

Sam said something in ghost speak, but her pronunciation was terrible. We still understood what she said, though.

"Daniel!" He swatted my arm. "Oh my god." He put his hands in the air.

I snorted laughter, while Sam said: "What? What did I just say?"

"Well, you said my name is Sam Fenton." Father said slowly.

"So?"

"And then you said that you like to suck big di—" I continued, cutting off father. I stopped before finishing the last word when Father gave me a look. "What? I didn't say it."

"Daniel! You seriously taught me to say I suck big dicks?" She punched me in the arm. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"I am helping you. Now you can get a date with anyone if you say that!" I laughed again.

"Daniel. We don't have time for you to mess around! Teach her ghost speak and do it _right."_ He walked back up the steps. I could hear him telling Skulker, and hear his laughter afterward.

"Fine, fine. "I sighed. "Now I'll teach you to hold a conversation."

I had her writing down things as she went along, and I learned her favorite foods were avocadoes. So I taught her how to say it. "No, no, you just called me a lawyer." I frowned. "More emphasis."

"Ugh. Languages are hard! Can we do something else?" She got up. "Let's train. My mind is pretty fried."

"Sure, if you want to." I shrugged. "What do you want to learn?"

She thought for a minute or two. "Duplication? That's not too hard, right?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. You have to have a clear mind and you don't have that right now. Very nasty if you get it wrong."

"Fine. What about that diamond thing you did with your hand?" She asked. She looked down at her hands, letting them glow with a weak energy.

"It takes a lot of focus. It's not dangerous to experiment with, though. It's just frustrating when it goes wrong." I extended my hand, my palm flat for her to see. I lit my hand with pink energy. I condensed it into a ball, and then slowly into a diamond so she could watch.

"Why is your energy pink? Mines green." She put her hand next to mine for me to see. Her hand lit up green. She tried to mimic condensing her energy into a ball, but she couldn't get it to move.

"Focus. You need to feel it. Think about your energy like your moving it with your mind."

"I can't focus." She sighed, letting the energy die in her hand. "I have too much rolling around my mind."

"It takes a lot of focus. It took me a few months to master it." The energy faded from my hands. "Let's just go watch TV, then." I shrugged.

"When do we sleep?" She asked.

"Ghosts don't sleep." I frowned.

"Why not?" She yawned. "I need a nap."

"I guess it's different for created ghosts, who knows? Just don't switch to your human form. You'll die a slow and painful death."

"How?" She looked alarmed.

"The Ghost World doesn't have oxygen. Ghosts don't breathe, so it's not necessary. You'd suffocate slowly." I stretched, heading up the stairs.

"How can you be so calm, Daniel?" She raced after me. "You're human too."

"Yes, but I'm not stupid enough to try to go human in the Ghost World." I crossed my arms.

She opened and closed her mouth. I guessed she had no response for that.

I continued to head up the stairs. "Hey, Skulker, do you have a bedroom? Sleepy pants here wants to sleep."

"Uh." He paused. "Second door on the right."

Sam appeared from behind me. In ghost speak, she said "Hi, I'm Sam Fenton."

"Your pronunciation is terrible, child." Skulker laughed. "But it is a start."

"I still like the other thing she said." I smiled goofily.

"Teenage hormones." Father laughed. "You're so thick, Daniel. I should've completely expected you to do something so low."

"Like you said, I'm a teenager." I shrugged. "I'll show her to the room. Thank you, Uncle." I gestured for her to follow me. We went down a hallway, and I counted several doors. I opened the second door to the right. The room was small, and it had a huge bed in the center. There was a plasma screen TV on the wall, and a small dresser.

Sam walked around me and collapsed face first on the bed. "It's so soft!" Her white hair was splayed around her face, and her voice was muffled.

"Get yourself comfy, Sam. Goodnight." I walked back to the door, but she stopped me.

"Wait."

I turned. "What?"

She sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Can you stay? Just until I fall asleep. I have trouble sleeping in new places."

"Sam, that would be wildly inappropriate." I frowned.

"What, like teaching a girl how to say that she sucks dicks in a language she doesn't know?" She smirked and patted the seat beside her.

"Touché." I sat beside her, and she laid down. I awkwardly patted her foot.

"You're weird." She mumbled.

"Says the sleeping ghost." I rolled my eyes.

"What? I'm tired I did a lot today."

"Crashed my celebration, got put in jail, overruled by the King, and then brought to my Uncle's house, taught a language you don't know." I ticked off my fingers. "I guess I'll give you a pass this time."

"Mhm." She was quiet, and then I heard her snoring.

I left the room, closing the door behind me. "Goodnight, Sam." I spoke quietly.

"You know, that's so sweet." Ember spoke as she walked down the hall.

"What is?"

"Staying in there until she was asleep. Skulker just tells me to get over it." She sighed.

"What do you think about being Queen?" I asked.

"All it is is a title. Skulker does all the work." She shook her head. "Besides, I just need to prepare for our little ghost." She patted her belly.

"Did you prepare a nursery?"

"Oh, yes. Let me show you!" She opened the door right in front of us. The room was blue, with a crib sitting on the far wall under a window. The crib itself was white, with just a mattress in it. There was a white dresser to the left, where I could see a closet on the wall in front of it.

"It's cute. Are you guys having a boy?" I smiled.

"Skulker is convinced we are. I would be surprised if it wasn't twins! In your family it seems inevitable." She ran her fingers through her blue hair as she spoke, untangling it.

"Yeah. Father and Skulker are twins; I have a twin. I wonder if Grandfather is a twin also? It would be funny."

"Mm, I don't think the King has a twin. Course, I don't know anything about him, really. The only thing I know is that Desiree is not Father and Skulker's mother, no matter how hard she tries to be."

"What?" I had thought that Desiree looked just like Father. "Who was their mother, then?"

"I'm not sure on who she was. I think she was _human!"_ She laughed nervously, looking around.

It looked like this was supposed to be a secret. I wonder how she knew, then?


	13. Raw Feelings

I decided to go train. When I got down to the basement, I took off my shirt. I started beating on the dummies when my chest started to hurt. I stopped. It was the same pain as last time I had a power spike. This time, I blasted the dummies to ash, but I couldn't see to stop. The energy kept coming from my hands like a leaking fire hydrant.

I was glad this room was ghost-proof, so I wouldn't damage the rest of the house. I breathed heavily. I felt the hot energy in my core, and I pushed it outward. Abruptly, the energy in my hands died. I sighed in relief. How long was it going to take my powers to steady? Father had said it takes time by how long it takes me to control them.

I groaned in frustration, kicking the ash. I summoned two more dummies, and practiced offensive technique. I used some kicking moves to try and practice. "Defensive dummies." I called out to the control center. It obliged, sending holographic dummies to practice with. These ones moved, mock attacking me just like someone else would.

I turned around, and started. Sam was standing there, watching me train. She was leaning against the wall. I hadn't heard her come in, and frankly, it scared the crap out of me. "What the fuck? How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the energy blasts started." She replied casually.

"What about sleeping?" I scowled.

"After you left, I felt fine. I guess I don't need that much sleep." She shrugged.

"Whatever." I walked over to where I had thrown my shirt. I pulled it on.

"You know, you could always leave your shirt off." She smiled weakly.

"Gives you time to check me out, hmm?" I smirked.

"No. I mean, if its comfier for you to train like that."

"I'll take my shirt off if you take yours off." I grinned, knowing she wouldn't do it. I turned back around, walking back to the dummy.

She grumbled something I didn't catch. She followed me over to the dummies. "Can I try?"

"That's the plan. They're moving dummies, so you need to learn offensive and defensive moves." I walked over to the control center and changed it to beginner. "Let's see how you do." I smiled.

"Okay, but I'm not taking my shirt off." She walked over to the dummies and started practicing.

While she was practicing, I started to lift weights. I could practice all day, but it doesn't even matter if I'm not strong enough to defend myself. I could work up a nice sweat doing this. The weights I were lifting were 50 lbs. in each hand.

"You know, I think I'm making progress." Sam said.

"You probably are. Anything is an improvement over what you used to do." I laughed. "Using pure spite just to tire out and let your enemies have an easy time defeating you."

"That makes it sound like I'm doing it on purpose though." She walked over to me, and saw me lifting weights. "Got anything I could use?"

"Yeah. Use the 5 lb. ones."

"5 lb.? I can lift a lot more than that, Daniel." She frowned.

"It's not how much you can lift, Sam. If you try and lift too much at one time, you risk pulling something and straining yourself. Best to start small and work your way up."

"Ugh." She shook her head. "Is there anything interesting to do in the Ghost World? I'm getting bored of training." She plopped down in the seat beside me.

I frowned. "What do you have in mind?"

"Any parks? Somewhere where we can be one with nature?"

"Um, probably. I don't really explore the Ghost World that much." I shrugged. "Father would rather stay in the Human World."

"Where have you been in the Human World before?" she asked. She actually seemed interested to hear what I had to say. It was nice.

"Father and I spent a while in Paris. Ghost speak is very similar to French, so I was able to speak it fluently. It was fun. Then we went to Germany, and to Italy… and we spent a few weeks in the Caribbean on a cruise." I smiled. "I'll have to show you pictures sometime."

"Wow, it seems like you travel a lot." She looked sad. "I've never been out of Michigan. My parents can't afford a lot."

"Next time we go somewhere, I'll take you with me." I grabbed her around the shoulders. "Let you see all the sights—"

"If you start singing, I'm going to puke." She shook herself free from my grip.

"Only occasionally." I laughed.

"Why don't you ask your dad if there's any nice spots? We need some adventure. We can't just stay down here training all day."

"You're right." I stood up from my chair. "Let's see if any of them know."

I went up the stairs, Sam following behind me. The kitchen was empty, so I went out to the living room. The living room was also empty.

"I wonder where they're at?" She asked.

"Who knows." I shrugged. "I can never keep up with what they do."

"Well, we can always take the specter speeder and go exploring." She said hopefully.

I crossed my arms. "Yay, back to the scrap junk." I said unenthusiastically.

"Har har. Let's go!" She led the way outside, where we had the speeder parked at the edge of the landmass.

I stopped. I saw everyone standing outside, and I couldn't tell what was going on. I saw a tall man in a white suit. He had pale skin, blonde hair and green eyes. I frowned. I had never seen the man before.

"Daniel? Who's that?" She asked.

"I don't know. Never seen him before." I crossed my arms. "Let's find out." I walked over before she could say anything.

"—March 14." The mystery man was saying.

"Thank you, Warden." Father smiled lightly.

I walked up behind Father. "What's going on?"

"Hello, Prince Daniel." Warden bowed. "My name is Walker. Pleased to meet you." He shook my hand.

I smiled. "Just Daniel is fine. This is my friend, Sam."

Walker's smile faded. "Yes, I know who she is. If King Pariah didn't pardon her, I'd arrest her where she stood." He frowned.

Sam laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was wrong." She responded in ghost speak. I was suddenly proud. I didn't know she could understand what we were saying.

"Hmm." He still didn't look happy.

"Daniel." Father grabbed my shoulder. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" I frowned. This didn't sound good.

"Remember when I told you your mother was arrested?" I nodded slowly and he continued. "Her execution date will be March 14."

My stomach dropped. He had pulled me off to the side, but I knew that everyone could hear. "How can you be so happy when you tell me this?" I yelled, pulling his hand off my shoulder.

"You think I'm happy? My wife went nuts and killed 30 people, Daniel! What's left is not your mother."

"You don't know that!" I looked him in the eye. "Did you try to get through to her?"

"Of course I did! At some point I had to choose calling the authorities on my wife—your mother—or letting innocent humans die. That is the hardest choice, Daniel."

Tears formed in my eyes. "Did you see that way when it was Madeline?" My voice was quiet. "Was it you who called them then, too?"

"Daniel." His voice shook. "I had no choice."

"Had no choice." I echoed. "Of course you didn't."

"Don't talk like that, Daniel."

"How else do you want me to talk?" The tears spilled down my cheeks. "Did you want me to be happy that my mother is going to die?"

"Your mother has been dead for months." He grabbed my shoulders. "That ghost that is left behind isn't her. I keep trying to tell you this."

"I don't care." I shook my head. I walked away.

"Daniel." He called.

I ignored him.

"Daniel!"

I flew back to the house, slamming the door behind me. I couldn't think. Father was adamant that the ghost left behind was not my mother. Why wouldn't she be? When I thought about my mother I remembered her kind smile, warm eyes. Late nights as she nursed my colds, and laughter. Mother was so much fun to joke around with. I couldn't stand to think I'd never hear her laugh again. Never see her smile. I refused to believe that there wasn't anything left of her.

I went into the bedroom and laid on the bed, laying on my stomach. I cuddled the pillow, burying my head in it. I sobbed quietly.

A memory popped into my head:

 _Madeline and I were in the living room of our old house. We were watching a movie and Mother walked over to us. She called us for dinner, and we both got up. She hugged me, and kissed my head. I hugged her. I was happy._

"Daniel?" Sam called.

I didn't move, didn't respond to her. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted my leg.

"I can't imagine what you're feeling." She said softly. I still didn't respond to her. "I'm close to my mom also. I couldn't imagine life without her."

"You got a point?" I said, my voice rough. "I want to go back to wallowing in my self pity."

"You can't." She sighed. "You can't wallow in your self pity. You need to move on. Accept it. That's what you're telling me all the time."

"I can't accept it." I sat up and looked at her. "How do I accept that my mother is gone?"

"If you don't move on, it's going to consume you. You'll end up like your mother… and Madeline." I stiffened. "You can't let grief win."

"Sure I can." I sighed and sat up. "I know I can't let it win. I just can't help it."

"You need something to take your mind off of it?"

I nodded.

"When I was 5 I was attacked by a hot dog." She smiled wickedly.

My head snapped to look at her. "Bullshit."

"Nope. Dad had done something with the ecto purifier, and this ecto goo got all over everything. So Jazz and I decided we wanted hotdogs for dinner. We had heated them up before so it wasn't a big deal. Except when we heated them up this time, the hot dogs came alive. I have a scar on my arm."

"Oh my god." I laughed. "Well, that definitely takes my mind off things."

"Doesn't it?" She laughed.

I smiled. "Thank you, Sam."

"For what?" she asked.

"For being here. For being so damned stubborn."

"Stubborn?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not stubborn."

"Yes you are. You're more stubborn than a mule." I wrapped my arms around her. "I don't know what I'd do without you here."

She blushed and patted my arm awkwardly. "It's what friends do, Daniel."

"Sam, I know you have a crush on me." If she wasn't going to admit it, I decided I would ask her about it. It was a spontaneous thing.

"No I don't!" She pulled free from my grip. "I deny everything."

I raised an eyebrow. "You blush says differently."

She crossed her arms. "Why does it matter anyway?"

"Because it took me this long to realize I liked you also." I looked down at my hands. "I guess just having you here, talking to me about Mother just made it click."

Sam's mouth hung open. "What? Did I hear that right?"

"Of course you did." I looked into her red eyes. Her blush deepened. I did something I hope I didn't regret later.

I leaned forward and kissed her.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

This chapter really hit me hard. My mother abandoned me when I was 15. I reconnected with her when I was 18, and she decided not to be in my life anymore three months ago. My feelings were hit hard with this. I tried to put raw emotion in how Danny felt with his mother dying and I hope I wrote this right. I would love to know what everyone thinks with a review.


	14. Scientists at heart

Sam pulled away. "Daniel…"

I blushed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." I got up from the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair nervously. "I'm sorry Sam."

I started to leave the room but she grabbed my arm. "Daniel, wait." She sighed.

I turned to look at her. I felt guilty for betraying her trust by kissing her. "It won't happen again."

"That's not what I mean." She got up to stand beside me. "I didn't mind."

"You didn't?" I asked.

"Of course I didn't." She smiled. "I actually liked it."

"I still shouldn't have done that." I sighed.

"Don't beat yourself up." She patted my shoulder.

I smiled. "Thank you for not being mad at me."

"You're welcome." She paused. "Your dad was pretty worried. You should go talk to him."

"What do I say?" I asked. "He's the one that called the authorities on Mother _and_ Madeline."

"He said it himself. He did it for the good of the humans." She put her hand on my shoulder. "It was a choice between good and bad. What would you have done?"

I paused. What would I have done? Would I have had the strength to call? Would I have been able to attack my own mother or sister? I suddenly had more respect for my father. It took a different kind of strength to do what he did. I sighed. "You're right."

"I'm always right. I'm a woman." She grinned.

"Oh god." I face palmed.

"Just go talk to your dad." She laughed. "We can talk later about how I'm always right."

"Mhm." I rolled my eyes. I went to walk out of the room, but Sam stopped me. When I turned to look at her, she kissed me. I immediately blushed deeply, but it was nice. Her lips were soft. "What was that for?" I asked when she pulled away.

"Luck." She smiled.

I walked out of the room, and went searching for my father. He was sitting in the kitchen, his head down on the table. Skulker and Ember weren't here. I sat on Father's other side. "Father." I spoke quietly.

His head snapped up to me. "Daniel, I'm sorry."

I held my hand up to stop him. "No, Father, I'm sorry." I sighed. "I overreacted. I shouldn't have blamed you for something that wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have acted that way."

"So you understand now?" his voice sounded broken. "Putting your mother and sister away will be the hardest decision I'll ever have made. I did it for your safety, Daniel. You're all I have left."

"You'll always have me, Father." I smiled. "You'll never have to be alone."

He smiled and hugged me. "Thank you for understanding, Daniel."

"I'm sorry it took me so long." I sighed, pulling out of the hug. "Some of the decisions you make I won't always agree with. I guess that's the difference between you and me."

"What would you have done?"

I thought about it. If Mother or Madeline were having a meltdown, would I have called Walker on them? Would I sacrifice my happiness for the sake of others? The quick answer was yes. When I thought about it, living in the human world was always going to be a risk. To protect the innocent, I would call the Ghost Force on them.

"I wouldn't have done anything different." I responded.

He sighed. "I wish things would've been different. I wonder if women are more likely to fall prey to their ghost sides. It was why I had you watch Samantha so closely. I couldn't have another incident."

"I know, Father. When you first told me about it, I thought you were kidding. I never expected it to be dangerous to be a ghost."

"Have you told Samantha about the danger?" He asked.

"Yes. I told her she needs to fully accept being a ghost. Otherwise she puts everyone in danger. Should I have told her something different?"

"No, my boy. You did fine." He smiled lightly. "What were you two doing outside anyway earlier?"

"Sam wanted to explore the Ghost World. See some nature." I shrugged. "She has this ship that sounds like it wants to fall apart. It's how we got here."

"A ship? Show me." He got to his feet.

"Should I ask Sam to come?" I asked.

"Yes. Perhaps she can tell me more about it. As a scientist I'm always curious." He headed out the door.

"Hey, Sam." I raised my voice for her to hear me.

"What?" She came out of the bedroom. "What's up?"

"Father wants you to come with us."

Her face soured. "Why?"

"To look at your junk metal." I laughed. "Father's a scientist, he likes to look at these things."

"Guess I should tell him about my parents, huh?" She mused.

"That's up to you." I shrugged. I led her back through the kitchen and outside. Father had met up with Skulker, who was still talking with Walker. They were making friendly conversation.

"Skulker wanted to look also." Father spoke when we approached him.

"Why doesn't everyone just look?" Sam mutters.

"We are." Father laughed.

"Great." She crossed her arms and led the way.

I wondered what was up with her. Women were so hard to read sometimes. Especially ghost women. It was like speaking another language. I frowned.

"What's the contraption called?" Father asked.

"The specter speeder." Sam replied. "My dad named it."

"Specter? Your father needs better names." He laughed.

"What did she say?" Skulker asked. "I hardly understood anything."

"She was saying that her father named the contraption." I replied in ghost speak. I kept forgetting that Skulker didn't speak English. I had asked him about it and he said he had no time to learn English. "She is learning, you know."

"She needs to learn faster." Skulker grumbled.

"Only as fast as I'm teaching her. I'll teach her more tonight."

We reached the speeder. Its bright white paint contrasted greatly with the Ghost World's green hue, and the fact that the speeder didn't glow. Since everything else did, light wouldn't be an issue. Sam flipped open the top and let Father and Skulker inside. She stood by me and watched as they inspected it.

"I don't like this." She muttered.

"What's going on, Sam? You're acting weird." I scowled.

"Nothing." She crossed her arms.

 _Should I tell him? I can't. How do I tell him that I hate his dad? That crazed up fruit loop gives me weird vibes._

I started. I had completely forgotten about being able to hear her thoughts. I bit my lip. Why would she hate Father? As far as I knew, they had never met before I introduced her. A memory popped into my head from a few weeks ago:

" _After your girlfriend knocked down the door, she tried to attack me for hurting you. It took me sealing her in a safety bubble for her to calm down enough to listen." Father laughed._

" _You locked her in a safety bubble? Oh man. I am not letting her out of this one." I cracked up laughing._

" _So, I told her about the poison, and she flipped out again. Blaming me. That girl has a temper, doesn't she?"_

I wondered what had made Sam flip out so bad. I could imagine her being angry for him not telling her what was going on with me, but did I miss something else? Something that they didn't tell me? What would it take for everyone to be honest with each other?

 _Daniel are you reading my thoughts?_

Oh god. I looked over at Sam. She was staring back at me intently. I sighed.

 _Yes. I've been able to since I first met you._

 _Why didn't you tell me?_

 _I didn't know you that well. I have some secrets, you know._

 _Why don't you tell me your secrets then?_ I saw her smile.

 _Why don't you start with telling me why you hate Father?_ I crossed my arms.

 _That's none of your business._

 _Then my secrets are not your business either._

I looked back over to where Father and Skulker had disappeared. "Find anything interesting?" I asked them.

"Ghost weapons." Skulker grunted.

"What?!" I looked at Sam and then ran over to the speeder. "Seriously?"

They showed me a pile of weapons. "I'm deactivating all of them." Father spoke.

"Why don't we just blast them? Get rid of the evidence?" I asked.

"We'll have to deactivate them before you do that. I'll let you do the honors." Father says.

I glared at the pile of weapons. I suddenly felt angry, but also sick to my stomach. What the hell did she need all those weapons for? Was she planning on attacking us? I should have never brought her here!

"How could I have been so _stupid?"_

Both men turned to look at me. "You didn't know." Skulker says. "Women can be very convincing in their lies." He glared at Sam.

"You were right. You both were right. I never should have brought her here. Uncle, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Daniel." Skulker sighed. "She is a feisty one; but perhaps this can be useful to us."

"How? Ghosts don't fight. Ghost fighting is illegal. Punishable by 1,000 years in the prison." I raised an eyebrow. "How is this useful?"

"Think about it, Daniel. Obviously, she has had help making these weapons. If we can find out who made them for her, we can eliminate any threat."

I paled. "Uncle, you're talking about killing Sam's parents?"

"Her parents made all this? Are they trying to start a Human-Ghost war?" He crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure what they think. I've never met them." I frowned.

Father and Skulker looked at each other. "I know what to do." Father put his hand on my shoulder. "We have to go back to the Human World."


	15. Friend or Foe?

"Is Skulker going to come with us?" I asked. "And what about my power fluctuations? You said it's not safe for me to leave yet—"

"Daniel. You have shown much control over your powers in these past years. I think you can handle it." Father smiled.

"Yes, I'm coming with you, Daniel. I can't pass this opportunity up to watch Human ghost hunters. Just imagine what we could learn from them."

"You don't speak English." I frowned.

Skulker frowned. "That won't stop me. I'm sure we could get them to make some sort of communicator."

"Sure." I shrugged. I turned around to where Sam was standing before, but she was gone. We were so wrapped up in our own conversation that I didn't notice her leaving. "She's gone!" I casted out my senses and noticed her flying back towards the house.

"Daniel!" Father pointed in the direction she fled. I understood his silent command.

I flew out of the speeder, heading towards the house. Sam had almost made it to the house. "Stop, Sam!"

She looked behind her and saw me chasing her. She phased through the ground. I followed her. _Sam, stop! Nobody is going to hurt you!_

 _I heard you guys talking. I didn't understand all of it but I understood enough._ She turned to look at me. We were in the underground training room. What did she expect, a lab? _I understood that your Uncle wants to hurt my parents! I have to protect them!_ Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Sam, that's not what was all that was said." I scowled.

"Then what are you guys going to do with my parents?" She asked.

"Skulker just wanted to study them. Figure out what they know. He didn't want to hurt them."

"You're lying!" She hissed. "He was going to kill them!"

"I misunderstood him!" I yelled. "I thought that's what he meant. I was wrong." I grabbed her hands. "You need to understand Sam, that those weapons back there are dangerous!"

"Of course they're dangerous! My parents built them!" She shook her head. "They want to tear ghosts apart molecule by molecule. If they ever find out about a half-ghost _family,_ they're going to want to run tests on you like animals!"

"You never told them, did you?" I asked. "You never told them about your accident."

"No." She ripped her hands from mine. "You will never tell them either!"

"Sam, why do you choose to live like this? In fear of what your parents will do?" I shook my head. "It's no way to live." My voice was soft. "It will lead to your destruction."

"My destruction? You mean…?" She trailed off. I nodded. "Oh god."

"We're going back to the Human World." I spoke. "All of us. Skulker and Ember, too."

"Is Skulker human?" she asked. "My parents would never work with him if he's not."

I smiled. "We're all human, Sam. We're all half-ghosts. I'm not sure about Ember. I just met her. If she's only a ghost she will be fine in the human world too. Nobody's going to hurt your family."

"I'm holding you to that. If any of you hurt my parents, I swear—"

I shushed her. "Sam, you're not a threat to any of us. You have got to stop leading with violence. It only leads to trouble." I shook my head. "I keep having to tell you because I can't seem to get this through your thick skull. Ghost fighting is illegal!"

"I know, Daniel! You don't need to keep telling me!"

"So why won't you listen?"

"I don't know!" She sighed. "I guess it's just instinct."

"You need to fight it. I think it's your ghost side doing that to you." I looked into her eyes. "Please. Fight it."

"I'll try." She blushed and looked away from me.

"Okay." I sighed. "Let's go meet up with Father. We're going to leave immediately. I think Skulker is excited to go out. He hasn't had a proper visit to the human world in like 20 years or so I think."

"That's a long time." She whistled.

"Yes it is." I smiled. "Let's go."

I phased through the ceiling and waited for her to follow. We both met back up with Father. "Where's Skulker?" I asked.

"He went to get Ember." Father responded in English.

"Alright." I shrugged. "You disable all the weapons?"

"Disable them?" Sam asked. "Why?"

I scowled. "You seriously need to ask me that?"

"Fair enough." She raised her hands up.

"All yours, Daniel." Father pointed to the pile.

I wrapped the guns in a safety bubble. "Nice form. Now execute." He says. I poured heat from my hands. The inside of the bubble heated up and burst into flames. The fire was contained in the sphere, and the weapons melted. I smiled. I loved messing with fire.

"Okay, pyromaniac." He laughed. "I think you got it."

I moved the bubble outside of the speeder. I floated to the edge of the landmass and dropped the melted metal off the edge.

"That was so cool!" Sam breathed. "Could you teach me a trick like that?"

"Sure." I shrugged.

"It only works if you have a hot core, Samantha." He frowned. "I don't think you do."

"Hot core?" She frowned. "Oh, right, I remember now. If I don't have a hot core, what kind of core do I have?"

"Hard to say." Father walked up to Sam, but I could tell she was nervous. He grabbed her hand and put both of his around her. "When you feel uncomfortable just say."

"I feel uncomfortable." She spoke quietly.

"Temperature wise, Samantha." He scowled.

What the hell? Did Father not like her, either? What was going on between them?

I watched as Father's hands grew warmer. When they got hotter beyond human temperature, she hissed and pulled her hand free. I could see it slightly smoking. I stayed silent. What was he trying to do? He grabbed her hand again, but this time his hands got colder. I watched, mesmerized.

"That's as cold as my hands go. How do you feel?" He asked.

"I feel fine. What does this mean?" She frowned.

"It means you have a cold core." He smiled. "This means you'll be working with Skulker. He knows how to better hone your powers."

She frowned. "I can't understand him."

"That will be taken care of." He waved his hand.

"Father, I think I remember what you were doing." I looked at his hands again. "Testing her core reflexes."

"That's right my boy." He smiled.

"Cool!" I looked at Sam. "Father knows everything about ghosts."

"Which is good, I guess." Sam rubbed her hand. "Is fire really that hot?"

"Duh, Sam. It's fire!" I laughed. "It's supposed to be hot."

"Ghosts can withstand hotter and colder temperatures." Father says calmly.

"That makes sense." She said.

I barely listened. I already knew this, of course. Ghosts were a lot more resilient than our human counterparts. "Hey Father…" I started slowly.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Do you think the poison has flushed out of my system?" I asked. "Remember you told me not to switch back to human because my venom was poisoning it."

"Open your mouth." He walked over to me. I opened my mouth and Father felt my teeth with his fingers. "I think you're fine. Your tongue isn't black anymore, and I don't see any infection. Being in the Ghost World helped you heal faster."

"Good." I closed my mouth. I noticed Sam staring. I showed her my fangs.

"That's so weird." She voiced. She looked at them closer. "They look fake, but at the same time they look so real."

"Duh, they are real Sam." I laughed. "Oh and I got cat claws!" I extended my claws for her to see. They were sore, but they didn't bleed or hurt anymore.

"That is adorable! And when I need to look like I got scratched by a cat or something I'm sure you'll help!" She laughed.

"When you use your claws you transfer poison." Father called from the speeder.

"Oh, so no scratching." I shrugged. "I'll just take a cat and piss It off. Not hard."

"That's smart. Piss off a cat." She giggled.

I heard footsteps and Skulker came up to us, with the pregnant Ember in tow. They had bags packed.

"You know, I was wondering how Ember was going to do in the Human World." I said.

"I'll be fine." She responded. "It's not going to hurt the baby, either. It'll actually be good for it."

"You were born in the Human World, Daniel." Father smiled. "You and Madeline."

"Yeah, I've seen my birth certificate. We were born in Gleset."

"Yes. Which is actually unusual for our kind. Our kind are usually born in the Ghost World, and if needed, we transfer over documents for a false birth in the Human World." Father stated.

"Huh. I never thought about it."

Skulker helped Ember into the speeder. I noticed it didn't have enough seats for all of us. It only had two seats. "Where's the rest of us going to sit?"

"There's a compartment underneath." Sam replies.

This speeder had more and more surprises. We all shrugged and climbed in. Sam sat in the passenger seat, and Father was driving. I could tell that neither was happy, but it didn't really matter. I scowled. I would figure out what happened if it was the last thing I did.


	16. Homcoming

When we got into the human world, I was shocked. The house was filthy. There was a layer of grime on everything. I stepped out of the speeder. The lab was dark. I lit my hand up with red energy, and I could see shadows around the room. Everyone filed out behind me. "Father, why's it so dark?"

"Bill's probably unpaid." He says.

"Makes sense." I shrugged. "The maids will have their work cut out for them."

"The maids can't come down to the lab, Daniel." Father reminded me. "Which means you have to clean it up."

"Why can't you?" I groaned.

"Because I have my businesses to run." He replied smugly.

"And I have to go back to school." I smiled.

"And I'm your father so you do what I say." He walked over to me, his hand lit with his own red energy. He ruffled my hair with his other hand.

I scowled. "Fine, I'll clean the motherfucking lab."

"Language, Daniel." Father frowned.

I smirked. "Whatever." I looked over to Sam, who's expression was unreadable. "What's wrong?"

Sam had her phone in her hand. "Daniel, today's December 12th. We've been in the Ghost World for two months."

"Three months?" I looked at Father. "But it's only been like three days."

"Time passes slower in the Ghost World." He replied. "One day in the Ghost World is about a month."

"Sam… your parents. What do they think?"

"I've got to go home." She was pale. "They've got to be worried sick."

"I can go with you." I replied. "Help you out maybe?"

"Do you think that'd be a good idea?" She frowned.

"Blame it on teenage love." Father smiled.

We looked at each other. "The company would be nice as my parents kill me." She responds.

"Okay." I laughed. "If you say so. I'll be back later, Father."

"Alright." He responds.

"Bye Uncle, Aunt." I smiled. They waved at me. "Have fun adjusting." I phased through the ceiling and waited for Sam. When she appeared I looked around. Snow had fallen on the lawn of my house. The grass was overgrown. The limo was sitting outside, but the tires were flat. I scowled. The maids would really have their work cut out for them.

"I'll race you!" She smiled and zoomed across the sky.

"Bitch!" I laughed. I raced after her, and caught up easily. I lazily flew next to her as she pushed her top speed.

"How are you so fast?" She panted.

"Years of practice, darling." I smiled. "Slow down, you'll sap your energy."

She slowed down and hovered in mid air, panting. "It's so cold! I can't believe it's December already. So much is going to be different."

"What about your friend? The male?" I scratched my chin. "What was his name?"

"Tucker!" She gasped. "Oh god, I completely forgot about him! He's gotta be freaking out, too!"

"You go to your parents and I'll go to Tucker's." I suggested.

"No, I need the support." She shook her head. "We'll talk to Tucker later. We need to go to my parent's."

"If you insist, milady." I bowed.

She face palmed. "Let's go…" She flew us in the direction of her house. It was a gigantic building with faded red paint. I had seen it before.

"Hey! I've been here before! You live here?" I asked. I looked up at the Fentonworks sign.

"Duh. I'm a Fenton." She landed on the front step and transformed back into her human form.

I landed beside her. I changed back into my human form and immediately wobbled. Sam grabbed me to keep me from falling over. My vision was blurry. I heard Sam pounding on the door.

"Mom! Dad!" She look at me. "Daniel, you're really pale."

"Guess my human form wasn't as healed as we thought." I laughed weakly.

"Maybe you need human medicine."

"Maybe…" I trained off. I felt my heart beating fast. I shook my head and stood to my full height. I felt better with each passing second. "I think I'm okay." I said. "I think it was because I haven't been human for a while."

She frowned. Her purple eyes glimmered with worry. "If you say so…" She looked back to the door. "Is nobody home?" She frowned.

"Let me try." I pounded on the door, and this time the sound echoed through the house.

"Don't break down the door!" She hissed.

"I didn't. I just knocked." I shrugged. She still had her arm around my waist, which I didn't move. I was wearing a black pair of pants with a tank top on. I was cold, but not enough to shiver. My temperature was always running a bit high from my hot core.

The door opened. A woman with short red hair and purple eyes looked at us. She blinked. "Sammy?"

"Hi, Mom." Sam said weakly. "I'm home."

The woman grabbed Sam in a bear hug, ripping her arm from around my waist. I wobbled slightly, but was able to keep my balance. I could hear the woman sobbing, and Sam saying calming things in her ear.

"Jack!" The woman yelled. "Sammy's home!"

I heard pounding, and the next instant a huge man came out the door. He wrapped both girls in a gorilla hug. He didn't cry, but I saw his eyes tear up. I felt like an intruder. I backed up some to give the family space. I thought about going home. I continued to back up. My foot hit an icy patch, and I fell onto the ground with a thud. "Son of a bitch!" I yelled. I scraped my arm on the way down to the ground, and my arm bled slightly.

Everyone turned to look at me. "Daniel!" Sam wrestled out from her parents grip. She offered her hand, and I took it, pushing the snow off of my pants.

I smiled meekly. "Hello." I coughed. "I'm Daniel Masters."

The two looked at each other and then looked at me. "Have we met?" Jack scratched his head.

"No, sir." I smiled again. "I haven't had that pleasure."

The woman rushed forward, grabbing me by the collar of my tank top. "Listen, I don't care who you are, you better tell me why you took my daughter for three months!"

Cries of "Maddie!" and "Mom" rang out. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight my way out of this as a human. So I decided to use my brain. "I apologize, Mrs. Fenton. If you release your hold on my shirt I'll explain."

Jack pulled Maddie away from me. She still looked pissed. "Do you mind if we sit to chat?" I grabbed my forehead. "I'm feeling woozy."

"Let's go inside." Maddie says, not taking her eyes off me.

 _Your mother is feisty._ I knew Sam would be able to hear my thought.

 _I'm sorry about her. She's been worried sick, Daniel._

 _I understand._

We walked through the door and took a seat. It was a large room, painted a light blue. There was a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which glowed different colors. Sam's parents sat on either side of her. I shrugged. I didn't take it personally. I sat on the other couch that faced them.

"Spill." Maddie said coldly.

I looked at Sam. She nodded. I took a deep breath and began. "Three months ago, I was admitted into the best hospital in France. My family is rich, you see, so we can afford the best care."

"Why France?" She asked.

"My Father's English isn't too good." I responded calmly. "We speak French fluently in our house."

"We don't get a lot of foreigners around here." Jack replies. "It's strange to us."

"I understand, Mr. Fenton." I smiled.

"What does Sam have to do with this?" Maddie snapped her fingers.

"Sam's my girlfriend." I replied. "Of course, she's been very concerned for my wellbeing."

"What?!" Her parents said together. They looked at Sam.

"Seriously, Daniel?!" She looked aggravated.

 _I had to make it believable. I'm sorry._

 _It's okay. I have to make it believable, too._

I had to stop myself from smiling. "She's been by my side for three months. I had my father pay for her plane ticket."

Maddie scowled. "It wouldn't kill you to tell us? Why all the secrecy?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't think."

"The important thing is that you're home." Maddie wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "You're grounded."

"Aw!" She groaned.

"No boys!" Maddie looked at me.

"What about Tucker? I haven't seen him yet."

"He can come over."

"Why can't Daniel?" She pouted.

"Daniel's different." Maddie scowled.

"Tucker's a boy." She pointed out.

"Tucker's your childhood friend. Not some guy you just met."

"Hate to tell you, son," Jack looked over at me. "But you still look like you need some care. You're very pale."

I nodded. "I'm definitely not at my best right now. I had hoped to meet you two when I'm not like this."

"Did they tell you what's wrong with you?" Maddie asked.

"I have leukemia. I had a lot of doctors poking and prodding me." I sighed. "I hate hospitals."

"I'm sorry." Maddie got up and squeezed my shoulder. "I was just so worried for Sam, that I didn't look at anything else."

"It's okay. I wanted to make sure you two wouldn't be too hard on her. Now that she's home safe, I'm going to go home and rest." I stood to my full height and stretched.

"Nice meeting you, Daniel." Jack shook my hand.

"Nice meeting you too, Mr. Fenton." I smiled. "Good bye, Sam."

"Bye." She said weakly.

I walked out the door, closing it behind me. Meeting the parents went better than I expected.


	17. Everyone's a critic

I lazily flew back home. I took my time, enjoying the colder weather. When you have a hot core, you always felt a bit hot, so winter was my favorite season. I could cool off some. I just had to be careful, since too much cold weather could hurt me. I smiled. The sky was cloudy, but it wasn't dark. The sky was a light cloudy, which matched the snow on the ground. I wondered if I laid down if I would blend into the snow with my white hair and white suit on.

When I eventually got home, instead of going inside the house, I just phased through the ground and went into the lab from there. The lab was empty except for Father. "Where's Skulker and Ember?" I asked, landing beside him.

"They went to go find a room." He replied. "Ember needed to rest."

"Oh." I looked around. "Do I really have to clean the lab?"

"Yes." He responded with no hesitation.

"Can I hire Sam to do it?"

He looked at me with a small frown. "No. You need to do it."

"But Father!" I whined. "I don't want to!"

"I don't care." He mocked my tone of voice. "You're a big boy, a little bit of cleaning won't hurt you."

"Ugh." I groaned. I hated manual labor. I'd just do it tomorrow. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmm?" He looked back up at me. For the first time, I noticed he was looking at a stack of papers.

"My human form." I hesitated. "Is weak. Is that from the venom?"

"Yes. You will grow stronger as your body adapts. I would stay in human form from now on until you're stronger." He walked over to the training room, which was down the hall from the lab. He set the papers on the desk in there and took a seat.

"Starting work already? We just got back." I scowled.

"I have three months to catch up on, Daniel." He sighed. "Why don't you go train or something? Your human form will need it."

I changed back to my human form and went to the training room. As soon as I changed, I felt a wave of tiredness. I decided just to go to bed. I'm sure I needed the rest. I climbed the stairs and walked into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of orange juice. I downed the glass and left it in the sink. I headed to my room.

I opened the door. My room was dusty, but I didn't really care. The star wallpaper grabbed my attention as it always did, and I stopped to admire it. The walls were blue, with shooting stars painted down on wall. The rest of the walls had stars on them, and various planets. The bed was king size, with blue drapes hanging over the sides.

I plopped into bed, dust shooting in the air from the brief movement. I sneezed. I turned myself intangible, and pulled my clothes off. I stared at the ceiling, the weak sunlight barely lighting up my room. I smiled. It had started to snow. It was very peaceful.

The next morning, when I woke up I felt a lot better. I searched through my closet. Father didn't approve of wearing casual clothes, but our version of casual was still dressy for this small town. I picked out a royal blue shirt and a pair of white pants. I threw them on and combed my hair. I wondered what day of the week it was. Would Father make me go to school automatically or would he wait until I got to full strength?

I went downstairs and had breakfast. It was simple, just a bowl of cereal. A woman walked in. She was pale, with long brown hair and vibrant blue eyes. She had a small baby belly. "Ember?" I asked.

"Yeah?" She grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. She poured herself a glass.

"You're half-human, too?" I asked. "I never knew."

Ember laughed. "Daniel, I'm a created ghost. I was born human."

I stopped. "What?"

"I'm a created ghost." She repeated. "I just don't use my human form a lot, since I'm stronger in my ghost form." She shrugged.

The last line of the prophecy flashed in my mind:

 _Only by the hand of a created can our suffering end._

I had thought it meant Sam. What if it meant Ember? I bit my lip. What if it was both of them, working together?

"Daniel, are you okay?" She asked. "You're pale."

"Yeah, it's the venom." I responded. "My human form is still getting used to it, I guess."

"As long as you're okay." She smiled warmly.

"If you're half-human, why can't you speak English?" I asked.

"Because I'm not originally from America." She laughed. "I'm Mexican, I speak Spanish. I could still speak it if I tried. English was no good for me."

"Wow. I had no idea."

"I don't talk about it a lot. You know Skulker usually does the talking." She sighed. "I was just surprised that he let me leave the Ghost World. Probably because he went too. He's looking forward to learning more about ghosts from a human angle."

"I was confused to why he was so excited to go. He told me at some point that he had no use for the Human World." I finished my cereal, and put the bowl in the sink. I guess Father already had the maids stocking the fridge, which I was thankful for.

Skulker walked into the kitchen. He was in his human form. His long red hair was tied behind his back, and his blue eyes sparkled. He looked like he was enjoying himself. He kissed Ember on the cheek. She laughed and blushed.

"You look happy this morning." I raised an eyebrow.

"Is it a crime to be happy?" Skulker asked. "The sun is shining, we're all happy and healthy, and I caught a ghost."

"What?" I scowled. "Who did you catch?"

"Some ghost called the Box Ghost. Never met him before. I think he likes to steal Amity Park's boxes and terrorize humans." He laughed.

"But that's not a crime, is it?" I asked.

"No, it's not a crime. It was just fair game. I'm going to set him loose and hunt him again." He smiled wickedly.

" _That's_ what you're so happy about." I laughed. "Ghost World's greatest Hunter back at it again."

"I noticed that there's a lot of smaller level ghosts here, Daniel. I could make a real hunt of this place."

"Have at it." I grinned. "I'm sure Sam won't mind."

"What does Sam have to do with this?" He asked.

"Sam calls herself Phantom, and proclaims to be Amity Park's hero." I shrugged. "She does so by ghost fighting, which is illegal, but she does it anyway."

"Has she claimed Amity Park as her own?"

"Not that I know of." I said slowly. "It could explain why she's constantly fighting ghosts out."

"If she claimed the town as her own, ghosts would stay away." He leaned on the counter nearest to me. "Once she claims it, her problem will be solved."

"How do you 'claim' a city?" I asked.

"You need to have something that sets you apart from all the other ghosts." He replied. "For me, its that I hunt down any ghosts on my property. With time, they learned I claimed it. For Sam, it would be different. She would need to go into the Ghost World and proclaim Amity Park as hers. Anyone would be free to challenge her for it, of course, but if nobody challenges then its hers."

"Wow." I laughed. "That sounds easy. I'll definitely tell Sam about it."

He shrugged. "If you want. Or you could wait and let me have my fun."

"Whatever. Have your fun." I shrugged. "Doesn't bother me." I got up from my chair and stretched. "Did Father say if I'm going to school today? Did he leave for work already?"

"Yeah, he already left. He wanted me to escort you."

"Why do I need an escort?" I frowned.

"I have to give your fake documents to your principal. Explain your absence." He shrugged.

"You don't speak English, though." I frowned. "How will you talk to them?"

"I speak some English, Daniel." He smiled lightly. "I know enough, I think."

"He just forgets when he's angry." Ember spoke up from the side of the kitchen. She had been silent for a while.

"I spent a few years in the Human World, Daniel. It's just been a while."

"Okay, if you're confident." I shrugged. "I'm ready anytime you are."

"Can I come?" Ember asked. "I haven't seen much of America."

"Sure thing, dearest." He walked over to Ember and helped her to her feet.

"You know you flip sides a lot. Sometimes you act like a mean ghost, and sometimes you're nice. Why is that?" I asked him.

"Depends on his mood." She giggled.

He rolled his eyes. "You two are unbelievable."

"You ready?" I asked. "I'll call a car." I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "He's on his way." I announced. "I'm going to finish getting ready."

"I thought you were ready!" Skulker called after me.

"I don't have shoes on!" I called back. I was halfway down the hallway.

"Young Daniel?" A voice in front of me called.

"Gaah!" I startled. I had been so wrapped up in my conversation I didn't notice the maid in front of me. It was the maid that I liked to talk to since I've lived here.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." She bowed. "I just wanted to welcome you home." Her blue eyes sparkled.

I laughed nervously. I consciously switched to English, since before we had been speaking ghost speak. "It's alright." I sighed. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It's quite all right. I just didn't want to crash into you." She raised to her full height, her long black hair falling across her shoulders. "I heard you were sick. Are you feeling well?"

"Yes, I feel better each day." I grinned.

"That's good! Anyway, I have to get back to work." She smiled and walked away.

I continued on to my room, and grabbed my shoes. They were a pair of lightly worn dress shoes. Someday, I might have Sam help me pick out some regular street clothes. Father wouldn't approve but I didn't care. It would be just like the time that Madeline dyed her hair pink.

I stopped. I was thinking of her again. I tried not to, since it made me sad. I sighed. My sister was my best friend my entire life, up until her death. I wouldn't be able to feel that close with anyone else ever again. Father was my best friend also, but it wasn't the same.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I put my shoes on and went back to the living room. Skulker and Ember were waiting for me. I waved. "Ready." I called, getting their attention.

"Took you long enough." Skulker laughed. "I saw you flirting with the maid."

"I wasn't flirting with her." I rolled my eyes. "She's like double my age."

"Whatever, short stack." He ruffled my hair.

"Dude! I spent like 10 mins gelling my hair this morning!" I hissed. I ran my fingers back through my black hair. I frowned.

"Your face will freeze like that." He lightly slapped my cheek. "Let's get a move on."

"I'm always late. Don't worry." I smiled.

He rolled his eyes. "Let's go, pup."

"Pup? I'm not a dog." I crossed my arms.

"Doesn't matter." He smirked. "I'm the Alpha, you're the omega."

"Save the best for last." I smirked.

He scowled. "Fine. Whatever. Seriously, we've got to go. It's like 9 am."

"You don't do human time, do you, Uncle?" I asked. I looked at my phone and did a double take. The time was actually 9:36 AM. "Fine, you win." I shrugged. I walked out the door and looked around. It was cold outside, and was snowing lightly. I smiled. It was serene, and I took a picture with my phone. We had gotten snow in Wisconsin, of course, but Michigan was a new ballgame.

"You know, your human form still looks sick." Skulker frowned. "Should you even be going to school?"

"Of course, Uncle." I frowned. "I haven't been human for three months, of course it's going to be looking bad. I feel fine, though." I opened the door and climbed into the car. "Carl, how are ya, buddy?" I asked.

"Doing great!" Carl smiled. "Where to, Mr. Masters?"

"School." I smiled.

"You ready to go back?" He asked.

"I think so." Of course, it only felt like I was gone for a few days. Time was very slow in the Ghost World. It probably had something to do with being a separate dimension. "I hate hospitals." I had never been in one long term. In my official paperwork that Skulker had, it listed that I had leukemia. It was the closest thing to the symptoms of being poisoned. Of course, we couldn't tell people we were ghosts. We were very through with our work.

"Who's that?" Skulker asked me. "Should I be concerned?"

"Of course not, Uncle." I shook my head and laughed. "That's our driver."

"Driver?"

"For the car." I sighed. "He drives it for us."

"Oh." He looked like he was thinking about something. I shrugged. Looking at Amity Park in the snow was awesome. It was like a huge cloud had landed on the ground. We pulled in front of the school, and I smiled. It would be nice to be back in school, learning new things. It took my mind off of my troubles. I got out of the car. I left the door open for Ember and Skulker to get out.

"Oh wow!" Ember said. Skulker whistled.

"What?" I asked. I looked over at the school, which was three stories tall.

"It's so… big!" She gasps. She pushed brown hair from her face.

"It's a school." I shrugged, leading them inside the building. "Schools in America are big."

"Yeah, but Daniel, this is huge. How do you not get lost?" She asked.

"I got used to it, I guess." I responded. "I didn't go here long before we left, you know."

The halls were deserted. Which was good. I led them to the office, where I could see Gloria sitting behind the desk. When she saw me, she gasped. "Welcome back, Mr. Masters!" She ran over and grabbed my hands. "We were so worried for you. You disappeared without a trace and we didn't hear anything. Next thing we know, we get a fax from a hospital in France confirming a leave of absence!" Gloria laughed.

I smiled nervously. "Yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck. Skulker and Ember entered the office.

"Who's this?" Gloria asked.

"I'm his Uncle." Skulker replied in English. He had a thick accent, and it was hard to decipher what he was saying.

She looked confused. "He's a foreigner, huh?" She looked at me.

"Yes. This is my Uncle Skulker and my Aunt Ember. My Father's brother and sister-in-law." I smiled.

"Oh, alright!" She chirped. "Do you have the forms for me?" she asked Skulker.

"Daniel." He looked nervous. "I didn't understand enough of what she said." He responded in ghost speak.

I face palmed and sighed. Interpreter it was again. "Uncle, why did you say you can speak English if you can't, hmm?" I asked him in ghost speak.

"It's been 30 years!" He made an aggravated noise. "I guess I just don't understand her."

"What language is that, Mr. Masters?" She asked. "Sounds like French."

"It is French." I responded. "My Uncle has lived in France for a long time, you see. He's frustrated because he can't remember how to speak English properly." I responded in English. "But he's learning."

"Oh, alright." She laughed.

"She needs the forms, Skulker." I told him. He handed her the folder from France.

She studied it, and took it behind her desk and started typing. "Thank you, Daniel." She smiled. "I really am glad you're feeling better."

"Me too." I responded. "It sucked. A lot."

"If you want, your Aunt and Uncle can escort you to class, but then they can leave. Just to make sure you get there safe, dear." She smiled, pushing a strand of gray hair away from her face.

"Okay." I smiled. "Thank you, Gloria."

"You're welcome, Daniel."

I gestured for them to follow me. Ember was too busy looking at everything. "You said you grew up in Mexico, right?" I asked her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." She responded absentmindedly.

"Was it different?" I asked.

"Nothing was this big, or high tech." She responded. "That's why I'm so in awe of this."

"This stuff is actually low-tech." I laughed. "My old school, Rutherford High, was an elite private school. The stuff we had there makes this look worthless."

"I can't even imagine!" She gasped. "Maybe someday you could take me there to visit!"

"Just hold on, Ember." Skulker frowned. "You can't travel until the baby's born."

"Yeah, anything else on that?" I asked them.

"We're having a boy!" Ember clapped her hands. "I'm so excited!"

"Good. A boy to lead on the Plasmius name. No twins?"

"Not as far as she can tell." Skulker laughed. "I think it's twins, though."

"She? Your doctors a she?" I asked.

"Of course. All doctors are women in the Ghost World." He responded like it was obvious.

"Doesn't my Father know medicine?" I asked.

"To an extent. We leave the practice of medicine to women." He shrugged.

We had been walking down the hallway to my classroom, and we had reached the door. "I guess I'll see you later." I responded. I was suddenly nervous.

"It'll be okay, Daniel." Ember smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled back at her. "You're right. I'm stressing over nothing." I knocked on the door, and Mr. Lancer opened it. He looked surprised to see me standing there.

"Mr. Masters. What a surprise." He said slowly. "They didn't tell me you'd be returning today."

"I'm sorry." I responded. "We just got back last night. I didn't know either."

"No worries." Lancer looked past me. "Who's this?"

"My Uncle Skulker and Aunt Ember." I responded. "They don't speak good English. They've lived in France for the last 30 years, you see."

"They speak French?" He asked.

"Yes."

"You speak French?" He asked me.

"Yes…?" I wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"You know, there is a foreign language class. Perhaps you should take it. I can always add it into your schedule."

I smiled. "Not necessary. My first language was French, English is my secondary."

"Huh. We don't get—"

"A lot of foreigners." Skulker finished, his accept still thick. "Yes, the old lady told us." He spoke slowly, and his pronunciation was wrong on several words.

"No, no, no." I shook my head. "No. Just don't." I put my face in my hands.

"What did I do wrong, Daniel?" He asked, switching back to our native tongue.

"You speak English like a baby!" I responded in our tongue. "Just listen to what he's saying and don't respond. It's embarrassing."

"What do you mean?" He scowled.

"Nothing." I shook my head and sighed. I looked past Lancer and noticed several students staring. Great, more attention. I turned around to face the both of them. "Listen, I'll see you guys when I get home, but I _really_ need to get to class. It's already 10 am, I've missed several hours of the day already."

"If you insist." Ember shrugs. She hugged me gently. "Thank you for allowing me to come."

"Of course." I hugged her back.

Skulker rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, short stack."

"Uncle, I swear to God—"

"I know." He laughed, putting his hands up. "We're gone." They turned and walked down the hallway.

I turned back to Lancer. "I'm sorry." I switched back to English. "They're like children."

"How often have they visited America?" He asked.

"Uh…" I paused. "The last visit was like 30 years ago. Waaay before I was born, obviously."

"Uh huh." He said slowly. "Anyway, your seat changed. You're beside Baxter now."

"Ugh." I groaned. "Me and him didn't get along well."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Masters. It's the only seat we had left. And since I didn't know when you were going to be back, it was all I could do."

"Don't worry, man." I smiled. "I'm not taking offense."

He smiled. "Alright." He led the way back into the classroom. "Mr. Masters has recovered and will join us." He announced.

I smiled and took my seat beside Dash. I pulled a pen from my pocket, since I had forgotten to go to my locker. I sat through the boring lecture, occasionally answering questions that Lancer asked me, and ignored Dash when he was trying to get my attention.

When class ended, I was surprised to see myself staring face to face with Sam.

"So, are we going to train now?" She asked, but in ghost speak.

I felt proud all over again.


	18. Toppling the King

I smiled. "You're learning fast, Sam."

"I think you forgot your book." Sam replied, grabbing a book from her bag.

I took the book from her. It was the ghost speak book we'd been reading together, when I was teaching her to speak it. I flipped through the worn pages. I had this book since I was little. I didn't even know she had it. There were noted written by her throughout the book by Sam and my mother.

"I read it cover to cover." She says. "I think I'm getting better."

"Which is good. If we're going to do this, we need for you to be able to understand us."

"Do what?" She asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

I grinned widely. "I'm going to solve your problems, Sam. We're going to claim Amity Park as yours."

"How do we do that?" She frowned.

"Once I'm confident my Uncle Skulker will help us, we're going to go back into the Ghost World." I lowered my voice, looking around.

"And do what? I'm confused, Daniel."

"We have to claim Amity as yours in the Ghost World. If there's no challengers, its yours. All ghosts will stop coming into the city."

"It stops? Just like that?" She asks.

"Yes."

"What do we need to do?" She asked. She looked excited.

"First, we need to continue your training. You need to be completely able to speak ghost speak and understand it. You also need to be able to hold your own."

"But I can fight!" She protested.

"Not your style of fighting. Mine." I crossed my arms. "You will die if you fight your style."

"You said it was difficult to kill ghosts." She frowned. "How can ghosts even be killed?"

"We're young, so its easy for us. Right through the heart and we can't stop it." I frowned. "Older ghosts are different. Something goes through their heart, they pull it out and it heals. The only true death is venom to the heart."

"Sounds very painful." She shuddered.

"Like fire going through your veins." I agreed. "I felt it when my venom came in."

She frowned. "I'm sorry, Daniel. Really—"

"Who's this?" A voice from behind Sam said. Sam started and turned around. A tall girl with long, red hair walked up to us. She had a kind smile, and her bright blue eyes studied me.

I frowned. Something about her was very familiar…

"Jazz!" Sam shrieked. "What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here." Jazz shrugs. "Who's this?" She asked again.

"My name is Daniel Masters." I extended my hand to her. She shook it slowly.

"Son of billionaire Vladimir Masters?" She asked.

"The very same." I smiled. "How do you know of my father?"

"I applied for a job at Vladco." She explained. "I'd like to go into business, I think."

"I will put in a good word with my father, then. What did you apply for?" I asked.

"There was an intern spot open. It gets college credit." She smiled. "I'd love to learn anything I could about business, and how to be a good boss, perhaps get into the best college—"

"Jazz." Sam interrupted. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, little sister!" She grinned. Sam pulled her off to the side, and over the noise from the hallway I couldn't hear what they were saying. I didn't want to eavesdrop anyway. I shrugged. So what if Sam had a sister? She was nice to talk to. I walked away, heading to my locker. I opened it, and a note fell out. I opened up the note.

 _Daniel,_

 _I hear you've back. I'd love to hang out with you sometime. I missed my best bud!_

 _Dash Baxter_

 _989-XXX-XXX_

I frowned. This was certainty quick. How fast did news travel in this school? But most importantly, what did Dash want with me? I turned around and crashed right into someone. He dropped all his books, and I dropped all of mine into one big pile. I fell on the ground. My head was spinning.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" A scratchy voice asked.

I looked up at him. A scrawny kid with short red hair and huge, round glasses stood there. I smiled weakly. "I'm fine, I'm just a little dizzy. You mind helping me up, man?"

He nodded vigorously and extended his hand. I took it, and got to my feet. I noticed that my white pants had smudges all over them. I sighed. Father wouldn't be happy but maybe I'd be able to convince him to let me go shopping. I bent down and started picking up my books.

"You're not mad?" The boy asked.

"Of course not." I replied. "Accidents happen." I smiled, trying to make the boy less nervous.

"Oh thank god." He sighed in relief, picking up his books.

I heard commotion, and Dash ran over to us. "Mikey! You're dead, punk!"

I frowned. Dash sounded angry.

He stopped. "Daniel, move out of the way! This punk has plagued me for long enough!"

Would I be a bully, or would I be a better person? I thought about what Father had said to me in the Ghost World:

" _Daniel, have you noticed that you're a bully?" Father crossed his arms. "I did not raise you to be a bully."_

" _But Father, it's not fun to be the underling. I like having my minions." I frowned. "I'm starting to make a name at this school."_

" _Daniel. Do you want to be remembered as a hero, or as a villain?" He looked into my eyes. "You're growing up. You're a Plasmius, you're going to make a name for yourself here in the Ghost World, or in the Human World as a Masters. It's all up to you."_

I sighed. I would make Father proud. "Dash, just calm down, what's going on?"

"This punk owes me lunch money!" He showed me his wet shirt.

"I already gave it to you for this week!" Mikey squeaked.

"Just because you're in love with Paulina, you think I can't have a chance with her!" Dash cracked his knuckles. "Besides, I want to shove you in a locker. It's overdue."

Dash stepped forward. I moved in front of Mikey, protecting him. I crossed my arms. "No."

"No?" He asked. "You going to stop me, Daniel?" He scowled. He walked forward, trying to be intimidating.

"Yes, I will." I scowled. Dash didn't scare me one bit.

He swung his fist. I saw it in slow motion. My eyes narrowed, and I grabbed his fist. He tried to push his fist forward to strike me, but I held it firm. He couldn't move his arm unless I wished him to. "What...?" He looked stunned.

"You will not strike me." My voice was icy cold. "You will not bully Mikey anymore."

"Try and stop me." He responded. "I'm not afraid."

I smirked. "Neither am I." I twisted his arm around his back. I kicked his knee, hearing an audible snap. He screamed. I leaned down to look him in the eye. "I'm taking mercy on you, Dash Baxter. I am not at my full strength." My eyes burned green from my anger, but I was positive only Dash saw my eye color's change. I didn't care.

His lip trembled. "What are you?" He whispered.

"I am your worst nightmare." I smiled, and this time my fangs were visible to him.

He shrank back. "What the…? You're not human?" His voice was quiet.

"I'm only half human." I responded. "The other half you can figure out yourself." I leaned forward. "You bully _anyone_ here again, and you answer to me. Got it?"

"Yes." He was pale.

I stood to my full height. I saw Sam and Jazz were off to the side. I knew Sam could hear everything I was saying, since she had superhuman hearing, just like me. I scowled. My clothes were ruined. I walked past Sam, giving her a look as I did so. I knew she understood. There was a small crowd, and I pushed through them all to get away.

"Cats in the cradle! What's going on here?" Lancer pushed through the crowd.

"Nothing." Dash responded behind me. "I fell. I think I broke my knee."

"I'll take you to the nurse." Lancer says.

I rounded the corner. I felt really angry. I normally didn't let small things bother me, so I didn't know what got into me. I sighed. Was this part of puberty? Being so angry all the time? This was definitely a question for Father. I released my anger, feeling better immediately. I checked the time. It was almost time for school to end, but I figured I'd have a lot of make up work to catch up on. I went to Lancer's classroom, but I knew he wouldn't be there. I sat in my desk and did some make up work.

"Daniel?" A voice asked. Lancer walked into the room, and I saw him hesitate. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was going to ask you for the makeup work." I replied.

He frowned. "Your father told me not to worry about it. Did you have something to do with Dash's injury?"

"No, sir." I replied simply.

"Okay. I'll believe you this time." He shrugged. "Just do today's assignment, alright? You can stay in here if you want to."

"It's quiet." I smiled lightly. "I can use quiet."

"I've been thinking. Do you mind if I get a bit personal?" He asked.

"Go ahead."

"You seem to be getting better. Are you on any medications I should be aware of? I'm only looking out for your safety, of course. If you need to leave class sometimes to take medications I thought I might need to know."

I frowned. This dude really cared about his students. It was kind of sweet. "No, sir. I'm healthy."

"You've been very pale." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I care about my students, and I know you were only here a few days before you fell ill. But I feel like you might still be recovering, so I want to make sure you return to full health."

"No, it's cool Mr. Lancer, I understand. I'm healthy, just regaining my strength. You don't need to worry." I grinned.

"There you are, Daniel!" Sam barged in. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Hello, Miss Fenton." Lancer said calmly. "How nice of you to barge in."

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer! I just need to talk to Daniel." She walked into the room, Jazz trailing behind her.

"Hey, Sam. Hey, Jazz." I said casually.

Sam leaned on my desk. "Can we talk?" She said quietly. "About Dash?"

"What about him?"

"We can't talk in private?" She looked at Lancer.

I narrowed my eyes. It was that kind of talk. "Fine." I sighed. I packed up my supplies. "Thank you, Mr. Lancer. See you later."

Sam grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of class faster. "Sam, what's going on?"

"You seriously exposed yourself to _Dash?_ What were you thinking?" She put her hands in the air from her anger.

"Calm down. I didn't expose myself to him. I have a plan." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Masters! I'm angry! You're always telling me to use my head, and not do anything stupid—"

"Like letting your sister listen in?" I looked past Sam, to where Jazz was standing there. She was within earshot of us. "Does she know everything?"

"Yes. She's been my supporter since day one! I can't say the same for you." She scowled.

"I didn't know you back then. How can you possibly blame me for this?" I gritted my teeth. "You may as well come over here, Jasmine, since you know."

"It's Jazz." Jazz corrected.

"Whatever." I waved my hand. "Did you tell her about me, too?"

"Vaguely." Jazz shook her head. "Look, Daniel, I've not met you before. But I don't like what I see. My little sister deserves better."

I gritted my teeth again. "Jasmine, you don't have the full story. Care for me to explain how your sister has spent the last three months training under me? I risked my neck to vouch for her! I could've been sent to ghost jail if the King wasn't my Grandfather."

"What?" Jazz looked at Sam. "You've got explaining to do, little missy!"

Sam glared at me. "Stop changing the subject! This is about you and Dash! You hurt him, Daniel." She frowned. "You're not usually like this. What's going on?"

I looked at Jazz and back to Sam. I switched over to ghost speak. "Sam, I think the puberty is doing something to me. I can't control myself."

Sam's frown deepened. "I can't believe I just understood what you said."

"What did he say?" Jazz asked. "How do you speak two languages?"

"It's ghost speak." I explained.

"Could you teach me?" Jazz asked.

"No. Humans don't have the capability to learn. You can't comprehend our language. I'm sorry, Jazz."

She scowled. "At least you stopped calling me Jasmine."

"It makes you angry. Like it makes me angry when Sam calls me Danny." I scowled.

"You don't look like a Danny, though." Jazz looked thoughtful. "Maybe a Dan."

"Dan would be acceptable. I still prefer Daniel." I crossed my arms. "We're getting off topic! Sam, what do you think?"

Sam frowned. "Did you ask your dad?"

"Not yet. I haven't seen him since we came home."

"From France, right?" Jazz asked.

"We never went to France. It was all a lie." I looked at her. "But that's secret."

"Never went to France? So where did you guys spend three months?" She scowled.

"In the Ghost World." I smiled.

"You spent three months in the Ghost Zone?! What the heck?" She exclaimed.

"It's the Ghost World, Jazz. Zone makes it sound like it's something foreign."

"But-"

"No. I will explain that to you later. Where's Tucker?"

"Probably avoiding you." Sam replied. "He hates you."

"Gee, I wonder why." I rolled my eyes. "I wonder why he never came looking for you in the Ghost World."

Sam's eyes widened. "What if he did? Have you seen him since we came home?"

"No. I assumed he was hiding somewhere." I felt panic rise to the surface of my emotions. "Should we be worried?"

"Let's just look for him before we panic." Sam replies, taking out her phone. She dialed him, but the number went straight to voicemail.

"Hold on." I closed my eyes. I let out my breath, expanding my senses. I pinged off of everyone in the school, but didn't sense Tucker.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Echolocation." I replied. "I can use my powers to sense sound waves."

"Can you teach me that?" She asked.

I frowned. "I can't teach you everything in a day."

"Point taken. So where is he?"

"Not here." My frown deepened. "Which means this is bad news."

"Where could he be?" She asked.

"Hard to say. We've been gone so long, he could be anywhere." I pulled out my cellphone.

"What're you doing?" Jazz asked. "Shouldn't we be looking for Tucker?"

"I am, Jazz. I'm making a call to my father." I replied.

"What can your father do? He's only human."

I rolled my eyes. "God, you're dense. How do you think I became a halfa?" I dialed Father. The line rang once, twice, three times and went dead. I scowled. Father never ignored me. What was going on?

"I don't like this." Sam says, her voice quiet.

"I don't either. I think this is the start."

"Start of what?"

I looked Sam in the eyes. "The start of another secret I have yet to tell you."

"Another? Oh god, Daniel, I thought we were past this!" She stomped her foot.

"I will tell you everything, I promise." I frowned. "We need to get back to my house. Now." I grabbed both girl's arms, and phased them through the wall.

"I can fly myself!" Sam wrenched her arm free of my grip.

"Good. You're heavy." I floated in mid air, with Jazz's arm in my grip. She was screaming. "Wait. I'm being an idiot." I grabbed Sam's arm again, and teleported the three of us to my house. I stopped cold.

"Daniel, what is it?" Sam looked terrified. She could feel it too, I knew.

"What is going on?" Jazz shrieked.

Sam and I looked at each other, ignoring Jazz. It was the stench of death.


	19. Death?

I phased through the ground, completely forgetting about Jazz and Sam. I landed in the lab. The first thing I saw was blood. There was red and green blood splattered all over the walls and floor. "Father? Skulker? Ember?" I called out, panic coating my voice. My voice echoed around, but I got no response.

Sam and Jazz came down into the lab. They gasped. "What the…?" Jazz called out.

"Green and red blood… This is ectoplasm and blood. Daniel, what's happened here?"

I ignored her, and called louder. "Father? Skulker? Ember!" My voice got more and more panicked. I flew over to the closed portal, where the blood was the heaviest. I pulled out my phone and dialed Father again.

A phone started ringing. It was Father's. I picked up the phone from the pile of blood. Something had happened here, and Father was in the middle of it. I paled. "Oh god…" I flew over to the console, and turned on the portal.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to find my father." I responded.

"What about Tucker?" She asked.

I stopped. I had completely forgotten about Tucker. I still smelled the stench of death, but I wasn't sure who had died. "Hopefully, he'll be with my father."

"What if he's not?" she asked.

"We'll figure that out when we get there." I started to move to the portal, but she stopped me.

"Humans can't survive in the Ghost World, Daniel!" Sam yelled. "Tucker is not in there!"

I frowned. She was right. I knew I wasn't thinking straight. "The Ghost World can also be used to go from place to place. Portals open up in the Ghost World to other places on Earth." I walked back over to the console, pulling up the history. The last time it was used was today at noon, but it didn't say where.

"What do we do, then?" I asked.

"Tucker's phone has GPS!" Jazz snapped her fingers. "Can we track it?"

"Maybe. If he has it near him." My frown deepened. "But my father… I can't leave him. Or my Aunt or Uncle." I bit my lip.

"I can't leave Tucker." Sam responded. "So what will we do?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but I was blasted in the stomach and sent across the room. I gasped, hitting the wall.

"Daniel!" Sam shrieked, running towards me.

I stood and morphed into my ghost form. My eyes burned green, helping the visibility. Jazz gasped. "He's a ghost too?!"

"Of course I'm a ghost." I responded, looking around. I couldn't see anyone, but I knew it wasn't Sam who blasted me. "Sam, get Jazz out of here. Now."

"But-"

"Now!" I cut her off, yelling. I closed my eyes, trying to sense another presence.

I heard a woman laughing. Her voice sounded familiar. "Poor Daniel. All alone."

"Show yourself!" I gritted my teeth.

"Oh, I will." The woman stood in front of me. She was tall, with long black hair, pale skin, and red eyes.

"Mother?" I choked out. "No… It can't be."

Mother laughed. "I'm not your Mother. Your mother was weak. I am so much more."

I shook my head. "What did you do with Father?!" My hands lit up with red energy. "Where's Skulker and Ember?"

"They're safe, don't worry." She grinned wickedly. "I can't say the same for you."

"They're not safe! There's ectoplasm on the ground, riddled with blood. Someone died here, Mother. I can smell it." I frowned. "There's something wrong with you. You'd never strike me!"

Mother's hands lit up with blue energy. She shot at me, and this time I dodged. "I am not your mother."

"You look like her, and sound like her!" A memory of my father's voice popped into my head.

" _Your mother's ghost side killed her human side, and attacked me. I escaped, and I called Warden Walker. He came with a squad of guards, and fought her until they could contain her. They destroyed the house. I knew we were no longer safe there, since the ghost that your mother had become knew where we lived. If she ever escaped, she would come after us with all she had. I couldn't risk it. I'm so sorry, Daniel."_

I gritted my teeth. Of course. This was only a power-driven shell of my mother. How did she escape? Most importantly, how would I contact Walker? "How did you find us?"

"I had a little help." She smiled. A figure came through the ghost portal. A woman with long, white hair and green eyes. She looked like an older female version of me. "Danielle, be a dear and kill my son for me."

"With pleasure." She smiled. Her hands lit up with green energy.

"I have a better idea. Why don't we just not do that?" I laughed. I blasted both of them in the chest with red energy and phased through the ceiling. I knew I couldn't fly away. They'd just follow me. I teleported to the first place I thought of: Fentonworks.

I landed on the front steps. I knew just being here put everyone in danger, since Mother could sniff me out in whatever form I was in. I sensed Sam was upstairs. I phased through the window. Sam and Jazz were sitting at Sam's computer desk. They both started.

"Daniel! Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam ran over to where I was hovering. She was in her human form still.

"We have a huge problem." I looked at Jazz. "Can you handle fighting ghosts?"

"Pfft! It's what I do for a living." She smiled confidently.

I shrugged. "Remember how my Mother was in ghost jail?" I asked Sam. She nodded. "She's escaped and wants to kill me. She has someone with her. Never met her before, but her name is Danielle."

Jazz stiffened. "Danielle?"

"Yes. Is that important?" I asked.

Jazz looked at Sam and sighed. "We had a sister named Danielle. She was older than me. Mom and Dad told me about her some time back."

"You never told me?" Sam asked. "Why?"

"You're too young, too pure." Jazz squeezed Sam's cheek. "I need to protect my little sister."

"I'm 15!" Sam pushed Jazz's hand away. "I don't need protection!"

I frowned. "We don't have time for family squabbles. We need to escape."

"Escape?" They asked together.

"You have a powerful ghost aura." I told her. "When they don't find me, they _will_ find you. They will slaughter your entire family to get to you. We both need to leave. To protect everyone."

"But we found Tucker!" She ran back over to her computer, where GPS was beeping steadily. "We have to get him."

I frowned. His GPS location said he was at the carnival in Elmerton. How was that possible?

"Daniel." Sam pleaded. "Please. I know you don't like him, but he's my best friend. We have to save him."

I looked back at her. "Fine. We go in, and out." I scowled. "I'm doing this for our safety."

"Thank you, Daniel!" She hugged me.

I pushed her back. "We need to be quick. The chance of them finding us is more likely every moment." I looked back over to the computer. I pictured the location in my head. "I'll teleport us there."

"Do we have to? It always makes me lightheaded." She scowled.

"Yes. We will get there quicker to release Tucker. We don't know why he's there. He could be tortured."

"Torture?" She echoed. "Why would they torture Tucker?"

"Information." I replied. "Who knows what he knows about us?"

"He knows less than I do." She responded. "I tell him everything, but we haven't seen him since we came back."

"But he's easier to catch." I sighed. "I feel like this is my fault."

"It probably is. I went looking for you, and Tucker went looking for me." She scowled.

"I specifically told you not to look for me." I glared at her.

"Listen here you spoiled rich brat—"

"Guys!" Jazz pushed between us. "There's more important things to do than argue."

"She's right." I said, even though Sam still was glaring. Her eyes actually were glowing red from anger. "We need to get moving."

"Fine." She gritted her teeth.

I grabbed Sam's arm. "Keep watch, Jazz. Arm yourself, just in case."

"Alright." Jazz smiled. "Good luck, Daniel."

I teleported the both of us to Elmerton. Sam opened her mouth to say something, but I clamped my hand over her mouth.

 _Speak with your mind. No words. We don't know what's here._ I thought to her. This mind-reading trick came in handy sometimes.

 _You're annoying as shit, Daniel! Quit acting like you're the boss!_

 _Last time I checked I was! God Sam, you're dense!_

 _And you're an asshole!_ She scoffed.

 _Christ, Sam. Listen to yourself. I'm trying to help you._

 _Ever since you showed up in my life things have gotten worse!_ She yelled in her mind. She fisted her hands. _Sometimes I wish I had never met you!_

I scowled. _Whatever. Believe what you want. Let's just get this done._

I closed my eyes and pushed out my senses. I sensed Tucker, and I knew he was here. I also sensed Father. My interest was piqued immediately.

 _Father and Tucker are here. What the hell is going on?_

 _Tucker's here?_

 _Yes._

 _Good enough for me!_

 _What?_

Sam charged forward. I face palmed. I didn't stop her. I watched her fly around the corner that we had been hiding in. I peered around the corner. Tucker was tied in a chair in the middle on the room, and Father was on his backside, tied up also. Father was knocked out, and there was a steady trail of dried ectoplasm coming from his head. He had switched back to his human form, and a little bit of blood was coming out of his mouth. It took everything in me not to run over to him. Father had taught me not to rush into situations, because that's how you got yourself killed.

Sam landed in front of Tucker. She started pulling at his bonds, but was shocked by something. She screamed and fell to the ground, her body smoking slightly.

I heard laughter. A figure stepped out from the shadows. He was tall, very pale, and had blood red eyes. "My, my. Who do we have here?"

"Screw you." She spat at the ground.

"Feisty." The man smiled. "I am Freakshow. Welcome to your worst nightmare."

"I don't care who you are!" She glared at him from the ground. Luckily, she had stayed in her ghost form. "Release them!"

I scowled. What the hell was she playing at?

"Oh, I don't think so." He clicked something on the ground. A red staff appeared in his hand. I couldn't stop myself from looking at it.

I felt something invade my mind. I fell to the ground with a loud _thump,_ with my hands on my head. My entire body shook.

"Daniel!" Sam yelped.

"You brought a friend!" Freakshow says. "How nice."

I stopped struggling as the foreign energy took over my mind. My eyes snapped open and my body moved on it's own.

"Who are you?" Freakshow asks me.

"My name is Daniel Plasmius." I responded, my voice monotone.

"What's your purpose?"

"To rescue my Father and the lame human Tucker."

"Your Father, huh?" Freakshow looked over at Father. "Drone, awaken."

Father's eyes snapped open. His normal red ghost eyes were still red, but they were cold and lifeless. "Master." His voice was monotone.

"Daniel… No…" Sam panted. "Fight it!"

I heard her voice, but it sounded far away. I continued to watch as my body responded under this 'Freakshow's control.

"My my, you're annoying." He looked over at Father. "Kill her."

Father got up from his chair. I felt Sam's fear. I struggled against my mind. I couldn't let Father kill her! In that moment, I took control of my mind again. Father had lifted his hand and was shooting directly at Sam's chest. On impulse, I launched myself in front of her, taking the full blast.

"Daniel! No!"

I landed on the ground. My chest hurt, and I felt ectoplasm pulse from my chest.

"What was that? Free will?" Freakshow lifted the staff again, and I felt the force invade my mind. I felt myself getting weaker. I gave in. I was too weak to fight.

We all looked up to my Father. His eyes were blue, and he was crying. "No, no… Daniel…" he said quietly.

"What? You will listen to me, drone!"

"No! You have made me hurt my son!" Father blasted Freakshow. Freakshow yelled, dropping the staff.

"Fine! We do this the hard way. Stephanie! Danielle!" He yelled.

Two women appeared instantly. "Master." They said together at the same time.

If I could feel emotions, I wasn't sure what I'd be feeling. I felt no pain, but I could still feel my chest bleeding ectoplasm.

"Stephanie?" Father echoed. "Oh no…"

"Are you happy to see me, husband?" She said slyly. "I'm not happy to see you."

"Enough, Stephanie." Freakshow rolled his eyes.

Sam had grabbed the staff. "You want this?"

"How did you get that, girl?" He asked.

"You were distracted. Now I hold the power!"

"Hand that back, child. You don't know who you're messing with." Freakshow glared.

I heard a muffled voice, but I couldn't understand what was being said. I looked down at my chest where my Father had striken me. It was oozing ectoplasm steadily. In a far corner of my mind, it concerned me. I could still feel like I was being controlled. Anything that that man told me to do I would do it without hesitation.

Sam looked over at Father, who nodded. Sam smashed the staff on the ground. Immediately, I felt my mind clear. At that same moment, my chest started to hurt. I bit back a scream and forced myself to stay in my ghost form, but I could feel my control slipping.

"No! You foolish girl!" Freakshow hissed. He lunged forward, but Father stopped him.

"You won't be hurting her." Father said coldly.

"Who's going to stop me? You?" Freakshow laughed. "I'd like to see you try. Stephanie! Danielle!"

The two women came forward. It seemed like they were never under mind control. They served him obediently. "Kill them!" He ordered.

"Looks like poor Daniel can't take much more." Mother cooed. "Won't be very hard to kill him." She walked forward before anyone could move. She lifted me off the ground, and I was too weak to resist.

"Daniel!" Father lunged forward, grabbing me from Mother's grip. He hissed at Mother. My vision began to blur. Was this how it felt to die?

"Now now, Vladimir." Mother said. "Give me the boy and I won't hurt you. Promise."

"We both know that's a lie." Father scowled. "Samantha, grab Tucker. Meet me at the rodevous."

"Got it!" I heard her muffled voice. She sounded like she was fighting someone, but I couldn't see her. When did they even have time to make a plan? Sam was keeping something from me again!

I closed my eyes. A nap would be nice right now.

"No! Daniel!" Father grabbed my face. "Look at me, my boy."

I didn't respond to him. I felt so tired. I heard shouts, and then suddenly I felt air whipping on my face. Good. We'd escaped. My control slipped, and I shifted back to my human form. The cool energy passed over me, and I started to shiver. It was cold outside.

"Hang on, Daniel!" Father said, but his voice sounded far away. "We will get you help, I promise!"

I opened my eyes as far as I could, which wasn't far. Father's face was worried, and he had blood running down his face. He had shifted back to his ghost form at some point. He looked down at me and saw me looking at him.

"That's it, my boy." He smiled. "Stay with me, okay?"

I looked past him. I saw Madeline. She was welcoming me with open arms. I smiled. "Madeline… you're here."

Father halted. "Daniel. Do not go near her!"

"But Father… She looks like she's at peace." Behind Madeline, there was a bright light. Was that heaven? Was that what was waiting for me?

We landed, and I smelled a strong scent of bleach.

"Help! My son is dying!" I heard Father screaming. I hoped he had changed into his human form. I'd hate it if he exposed himself for me.

I felt myself put onto a hospital bed. There were many voices shouting, but the shouts were all incoherent. I kept my eyes focused on Madeline.

"Madeline, you really came for me." I spoke to her. It was suddenly a lot easier to speak with her.

"Of course I did, brother." She smiled and embraced me.

"I've missed you so much!" I sighed.

"I have missed you too, Daniel, but I'm sorry you cannot stay." She frowned.

"Stay? You mean I'm not dead?" I frowned also.

"No, you are dead, Daniel. But soon, the doctors will revive you. Want to walk while we chat?" She asked, hooking her arm with mine.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Nowhere in particular." She said softly. "Just around."

I looked around. I could still see the hospital room, where my body was surrounded by nurses. "Have you been watching me?"

"Of course, brother. I never stopped watching over you. I am still your sister, after all." She smiled.

"But Madeline… where's Mother?" I didn't see anyone else around.

"Mother's soul is trapped within the ghost that possessed her. To free her, you must kill her." Her smile faded. "You have a long, hard road ahead of you Daniel."

"So why not just let me die?" I asked. "Why go through all of this trouble just to speak to me?"

"Your future has been rewritten by the God. You were supposed to die, but he has granted you the chance to live."

"The God? What do you mean by that?" I frowned. "And why does he care about me?"

"You will meet him soon enough, Daniel." We stopped walking. "He watched over all of us, even if it seems like he isn't there."

"I still don't understand. You didn't answer my question. Why me?"

"You heard the prophecy. All will be clear in the long run."

I scowled. "You sound like a damned fortune cookie. Why won't you tell me what's going to happen?" I grabbed her shoulders, looking into her blue eyes that looked exactly like Father's. "Madeline, I can't keep everyone safe if you don't tell me."

She sighed. "I can't tell you everything that will happen, brother. You need to figure it out yourself."

"You gave me more questions than answers. Why go through all of this trouble?" I scowled.

She had started to walk away from me. She turned around, the sun in the background lighting up her black hair. "To give you hope, Daniel. You know now that I watch over you. There is nowhere that you go that you won't hold your connection to me. Remember that when you need it, Daniel."

"What?" I felt myself pulled away from her. Suddenly, I couldn't see her anymore.

"…Time of death, 6:38 PM." I heard scribbling.

I took a huge breath. The machines hooked up to me went crazy.

"Holy cow! Daniel, can you hear me?" I felt someone listening to my heartbeat.

I was too weak to respond. I nodded.

"You gave us quite a scare there, son." The doctor responded. He laughed. "Your Father was just in here. I'll call him back in to sit with you."

My body felt very heavy. I listened to the machines beep steadily. The door opened and closed.

I heard running footsteps. "Daniel!" Father cried. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Don't do that to me ever again."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. If I wasn't so tired I'd sit up and hug Father. Instead, I sighed.

Father seemed to know what I meant. "I can't loose you. Not after everyone else."

Everyone else? I knew Mother and Madeline were dead. Who else had died?

"Get some sleep, Daniel." Father was still holding my hand. "You probably need it." He let go of my hand and moved, but he didn't leave the room. I settled into my bed and slept.

I felt something stir within me. I opened my eyes. My vision was tinted with a gold hue.

"Daniel!" Father ran back over. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." I responded. I was in my human form, but the voice that came out of my mouth was not mine. I sat up in my bed. I suddenly felt the strong urge to move.

"Stop moving, Daniel. Get back into bed!" He tried to push me back down, but he couldn't budge me.

I looked down at my hands. From what I could see, my entire body was covered in a gold hue. I looked at Father.

"Daniel. Your eyes… they're gold." He gasped.

"Father, what's happening to me?" I asked.

"Your body is adapting to your new energy." A voice spoke from behind me. Father and I both turned around with supernatural speeds.

A man stood there. He had pale blue skin, bright red eyes and wore a bright purple hood. He had the indention of a clock on his chest, almost like a robot. The ghost's aura was so bright it was almost… gold. The man smiled. "Hello there, Daniel. Vladimir."

"Who are you?" Father asked.

"My name is Clockwork." He moved forward. "I saved young Daniel from dying today."

I held my breath. "You saved me?" I asked.

"Yes, Daniel, I did." A staff appeared in his hand. The staff was as tall as him, and made of metal. At the top, sat a clock.

"Why me?" I asked. I got to my feet.

"You made the ultimate sacrifice: to die in place of another. Come with me, I will explain everything." He held out his hand. Immediately, I got up and walked over to him.

"Now you just wait a damned moment—" Father walked forward, but Clockwork stopped him. "I'm sorry, Vladimir, you cannot come with us."

"You can't separate me from my son! I just watched him die in my arms!" His voice broke. "Please. I can't be be away from him right now."

Clockwork sighed. "You won't miss him. He will only be gone a moment." He waved his hand, and Father collapsed on the ground.

"Father!" I gasped. "What did you to do to him?"

"Relax. He will only be asleep until we return. Then he will awaken, and you can return to him." Clockwork opened a portal. "After you."

I stepped through the portal. The first thing I noticed is that we weren't alone.

There were hundreds of ghosts. They were all green, wearing a white robe with a high, black collar. They all had one eye. There was one of the ghosts at the very front, the rest were scattered around the room.

I felt uncomfortable, but I pushed it to the side. I still felt the gold energy swirling around me, healing me. My vision was still tinted gold. It had started to feel familiar now.

"Daniel Plasmius." The front ghost spoke. "We meet at last."

"Hello." I spoke to the room. I bowed. Light laughter could be heard throughout the room.

"No need to be so formal, Daniel." Clockwork laughed quietly.

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "I guess it's just good manners."

"Your Father taught you well." The head ghost agreed. "We are the observants. We have been watching you for some time, Mr. Plasmius. We have seen all that can be, or can't be."

I frowned. They didn't watch me while I showered, did they?

"You sacrificed yourself for Samantha Fenton. You allowed yourself to die, if it meant protecting her. We have decided to reward you for your sacrifice." The head ghost spoke.

"Thank you. But I didn't do it for a reward." My frown deepened. "I just needed to protect her. I brought her there, I wouldn't be able to stand it if she had died because of me."

"And yet. Here you are, proving how humble you are." The ghost laughed. "It just proves more to us how ready you are."

"Ready for what? I asked. "Does it have something to do with this gold hue?"

"It has everything to do with it." Clockwork smiled. "What do you see when you look at us?"

I frowned. "I see ghosts."

"Look closer, Daniel." He grinned. "Use that brain of yours."

I looked at Clockwork closer. For a while, all I saw was a ghost. And then, I saw it. The area around Clockwork glowed so bright, it almost hurt my eyes. The entire area around him turned gold. "Dude! Turn off the lights!" I covered my eyes.

Clockwork laughed. "You are truly a 15-year-old. Do you see now, Daniel?"

"Yes." I rubbed my eyes. "Why does that matter?"

"We now see the same when we look at you." He responded.

"You mean I'm a god?" I asked. I felt pure panic. I didn't want to be a god! "Am I going to have to live with a gold aura the rest of my life?"

"No, Daniel. Eventually your body will adjust and your vision will return to normal. Your ghost form will always have the gold hue."

I groaned. "But Clockwork, I don't want to be a god."

He smiled again. "Daniel, there will be a time where you will be glad to be a god. I will teach you our ways, and our laws, since they vary from ghost laws. We will be seeing a lot of each other."

I frowned. I wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Goodbye, Daniel." He waved his hand, and suddenly I was back in the hospital bed.

Father's eyes opened. "Daniel! Are you alright?"

I shook my head. "I think so." My vision returned to normal, and my gold hue disappeared. I looked down at my hands, which proved I was in my human form the entire time. I frowned.

"What happened, Daniel? What did he say to you?"

I looked Father in the eye. "He said I'm a God."


	20. Blackmail

Father's mouth hung open. "No way he said that."

"I'm serious!" I insisted. I sat up in bed, my feet handing off the end. I stared at my feet. I felt the same as I always did, and I was a little afraid to shift back to my ghost form. If I had to do that to convince Father, I would. I stood up. I shifted back to my ghost form, and Father gasped.

"Daniel…" Father walked over to me, and looked me up and down. "I see it now. You're glowing gold."

I smiled. "Look me dead in the eye."

"What are you getting at?" he scowled.

"Just do it." I grinned wider. I tried to feel the same emotion that I did earlier.

"Agh! Turn off the light!" He covered his eyes.

I laughed wildly. I couldn't help it. I lost my focus, and the feeling disappeared. I floated in mid air, rearranging myself into a seated position.

"You're terrible, Daniel." He frowned.

"I know. I learned from the best." I raised my eyebrow.

"Har har." He rolled his eyes. "I wonder what's going to happen now? Why would they make a 15-year-old a demigod?" He scratched his chin.

I frowned. "I'm not sure. Clockwork was very vague. I think something's coming, Father. I just don't know what."

"We've known that since we heard that prophecy." He shook his head. "Your mother showing up isn't helping the situation."

"She's not my mother!" I hissed. "My mother would never attempt to kill me."

"I'm no better." Father sighed. "I did try to kill you."

"But you were under the same mind control I was!" I floated over to him. "Father. I don't blame you." I took his hands. "I forgive you."

His eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, my boy. I needed to hear that." He hugged me tightly.

A thought popped into my head. "Wait. Where's Skulker and Ember? I think someone died at our house!"

"Oh butter biscuits!" Father reached for his cellphone, but didn't have it.

"What happened, Father? There was so much blood and ectoplasm…" My eyes went wide. "It wasn't Skulker or Ember who died, was it?"

"No, no." He started to pace. "It was one of their goons. What concerns me is that I passed out, and when I fully woke up, it was just you and Samantha and that human boy there. I don't know where they took them."

I scowled. "How can we locate them? Do you think they might've escaped through the ghost portal?"

"It's a possibility, but I'm not for certain what happened. I think Skulker would be too concerned for me to flee this world." He made an aggravated noise. "I just wish I knew where to look!"

I sat back on the bed, changing to my human form. "Unfortunately, I think you're on your own. Since we're ghosts, obviously, we heal very fast, but this human hospital isn't going to release me anytime soon."

"I know. I wouldn't want you to leave until I'm sure you're alright." Father agreed. "I just need to find Skulker and Ember. They're not trained for combat like we are."

"Ghost fighting is illegal." I said sing-song like. "So how are we ahead of them?"

"Daniel, just be quiet!" He hissed. "I'm trying to think!"

I shrugged. "Whatever." I leaned back onto the bed, looking at my bare chest. They had cut open my shirt to try and save my life. There was a serious burn on my chest, but it didn't hurt. It already looked like it was four or five days old.

"Was Sam able to escape?" I asked after a brief silence.

Father stopped pacing. "I think so. We left before she did, but I know she is cunning and resourceful."

I pulled out my cellphone and dialed Sam. It rang a few times before she answered. "Daniel?" She spoke.

"Yeah, it's me." I smiled lightly.

"Oh my god! Why are you always trying to die on us?" She screeched, and I pulled the phone away from my head.

"Okay, first off, I actually did die this time. I'll tell you about it later."

"What?" When I stayed silent, she continued. "Fine. Where are you?"

"The Amity Park Hospital." I replied.

"I'll be there in ten." She hung up.

I stared at my phone. "Father?"

"Yes, Daniel?" Father looked up. He actually looked annoyed now.

"Does Skulker have a cell phone?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Ghosts don't carry cellphones." Father frowned. "But his ecto signature would still be leaving a trace! Daniel, you're a genius!" He ran over to me and kissed my forehead.

"Keep me updated. Please." I begged him. "When they release me, I'll come find you."

"Alright." He grabbed my hand and kissed it again. "I'm sorry, my boy, but I need to find them."

"I understand." I smiled. "Go kick some ass."

He smiled at me and turned into his ghost form. He ran a hand through his long black hair and teleported away.

I sighed. I felt so alone. First, I went through ghost puberty. And almost died. Now, I become a –what did Father call it?—demigod. I wondered how this would affect my powers. Would this make me more powerful? I could feel energy below the surface. I would need to do some research on this, since I wasn't sure how to proceed.

A soft knock sounded on the door. I covered myself up with the blanket on the bed. "Come in."

A nurse came in with a machine. "Hello, Mr. Masters." Her red hair cascaded down her back.

"Hello." I smiled at her. "Please call me Daniel though."

"Alright, Daniel. I just need to get some information from you." She typed into the computer. "Normal routine for hospitals."

"Alright."

"Hold out your wristband?" I held it out for her. "Comfirm birthday and name?"

"Daniel Masters, born February 14." I smiled.

"Thank you." She typed into the computer.

Another knock sounded at the door. "Daniel?" Sam poked her head around the corner. Thank goodness she was in her human form.

"Come on in, Sam." I smiled. Sam sat on the edge of my bed. She held her hand out, and I took it and kissed it.

"I'm glad you're okay, Daniel." She sighed. "I was really worried."

"Ooh, got a girlfriend?" the nurse asked. She smiled. "You don't have to answer that."

I laughed. "Yeah. This is Sam, my girlfriend."

Sam blushed. "How's he looking so far?"

"Well, we normally don't have patients come back from death so fast." She frowned. "You must be a very fast healer."

"Yes." I agreed. "Probably because of the money. We pay you very well."

The nurse laughed. "No, no. We take care of our patients, Daniel."

I shrugged. "I guess that's a good thing for such a small hospital."

"Small?" The nurse asked. "This is the biggest hospital around."

"You have to understand. I'm from a huge town in Wisconsin. Gleset can fit three or four Amity Parks into our hospital."

"Well, isn't that special." The nurse clicked her tongue.

I frowned. "Whatever."

The nurse tapped on her keyboard some more. "All done! Pleasure seeing you, Daniel."

"Any news on when I'll be released?" I asked. "I hate hospitals!"

The nurse frowned. "Probably not any time soon. You were almost pronounced dead. The doctor will probably be in here soon to run some tests."

I groaned. "Come on! I need to go back to school. I just spent three months in the hospital."

"Yes. The Centre Léon Bérard." The nurse looked at the screen. "You were treated for leukemia, but you show no signs of regressing."

"I'm a strong healer." I smiled lightly. "But there's nothing you can do?"

"Not me, no. I'll have your doctor come in and examine you." She smiled kindly. "Goodbye, Daniel."

"Goodbye." I waved.

The nurse wheeled her computer out and left. I looked at Sam.

"So, boyfriend." She looked at me slyly. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "I saw my sister, Madeline. She told me to be strong." I sighed. "She told me I was dead. Then, she sent me back and I woke up. The doctor was in the middle of pronouncing me dead."

"Wow. What was that like? Did she look angelic?" She asked. "She looked just like your dad, right?"

"Right. She had black hair like me, but she had dark blue eyes. Before her death, she had dyed pink highlights in her hair. It looked nice. She was still the carbon copy of my Father, though. Acted like him, talked like him, but had a rebellious streak of a teenage girl." I sighed. It still made me sad.

"I'm sorry, Daniel." She rubbed my shoulder. "I can't imagine what that's like."

"Even after all I've told you about her lately, and how much I've missed her, seeing her again was like reopening an old wound. Maybe with time, it will get easier."

"So what happened next?" she asked. "I know there has to be more than that."

"I fell asleep. When I woke up, my body— _human body_ – was covered in this gold hue, kind of like a ghostly aura. It was creepy. Father said my eyes had turned that same gold. Then, this guy named Clockwork shows up, and put Father to sleep. He took me to this place were these alien-looking ghosts told me I was a hero and made me a God."

Sam paused. "A God? Capital G?"

"I think so. But father called me a demigod." I frowned. "This dude, Clockwork, was an actual God. Capital G. He told me he's going to train me to be a God." I looked around. "He kind of scares me." I said quietly.

Sam looked at me with an odd look. "You're 15. Why does a ghost scare you?" She crossed her arms.

"If you saw him, you'd understand."

"Daniel, you're acting like a frightened little boy."

"Sam, he waved his hand _and teleported me into the goddamned human world without breaking a sweat._ He is not someone that needs to be messed with."

"Fair enough. Imagine what you can learn from him! You said he's going to train you how to be a God, and he will make you powerful. Just don't let that power go to your head, Daniel. I'd hate for you to become an arrogant ass like Dash." Sam scoffed.

"Trust me. I'm not letting it get to my head. Besides, I think I knocked Dash off his high horse." I smirked.

"By breaking his knee? We never got a chance to talk about this, Daniel." Sam sighed. "I don't like how you handled that. You always tell me not to get my emotions get the best of me. But that's _exactly_ what you did there."

"Sam…"

"No, Daniel. You don't get to tell me 'I just got angry' or 'I'm sorry' well sorry doesn't fix Dash's knee! What do you think he's going to do now? He knows you're not fully human. He's going to figure it out eventually, Daniel." She wrung her hands. "It just makes me nervous that you're not taking this seriously."

"I am taking this seriously!" I sat up to look at her better. "I promise. I know I screwed up. I'm sorry. You're right, I can't fix my mistake. All we can do is move forward." I sighed.

"What're you going to do?" She asked.

"The next time I see Dash, I'll apologize to him, first off. If he wants to talk, we'll talk. I'll do the best of my ability not to make him an enemy."

"Well, maybe not that far." She laughed. "Just start with an apology."

I smiled. "Okay. I'll start with an apology."

"You really scared me, Daniel. You looked like you were dead when your dad took you to the hospital."

"I don't know exactly what happened." I tried to remember what happened. I had been under mind control, but I couldn't stand to see Sam get hurt. I sacrificed my life for hers, and jumped in front of the blast that was meant to kill her. After that blast, it was a haze. I remembered talking to Father, but it was vague.

"I'm just glad you're okay." She smiled.

I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll always be here." I whispered in hear ear.

"Goddammnit Daniel!" She pushed my face from hers. Her entire face was red with an immense blush.

"I thought you were used to me flirting by now." I asked.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it." Her face was still flushed. She buried her head into her hands.

"You should." I smiled slyly.

She suddenly threw her arms around my neck. "Dan, don't scare me like that every again. Please."

"You called me Dan." I smiled lightly.

"Oh, sorry I know you don't like nicknames."

"No, it's just 'Danny' I didn't like. Dan is fine."

She snuggled into my shoulder. I stroked her hair. "This is nice. We haven't fought in about five minutes."

"Give it time." She said quietly.

"So, if before I was half human, half ghost, does this make me half human, quarter ghost and quarter god?" I scowled. The math made my brain hurt.

"Ask him. He can probably explain it to you better."

"Hmm. I wonder…"

"What are you thinking?"

"He said he was going to train me to be a God. Could I summon him on command?"

Sam scowled. "Dan, he's a God. Not a puppet. He'll probably appear when he wants to."

"Kind of like the Christian God." I laughed. "As in, he's never there."

"Speaking of Christians, I wonder if Clockwork is their God?" Sam mused. "What if Clockwork is the living embodiment of every religion?"

"You're overthinking it." I replied. "Let's just stick with Clockwork being a God."

"Alright."

A comfortable silence overcame us. I looked out the window, where I could see a garden. The garden was beautiful. There was a giant marble fountain with trickling waterfalls, and benches around it. There were mini bushes and sculptured trees around the area. The sky was cloudless. It was probably one of those cold days with no snow. I smiled. I could see myself walking through the garden, perhaps flying into the air…

"Daniel?" Sam asked.

"Hmm?" I looked back over at her. "What's up?"

"You know, I always wondered… what's it like being rich?"

"Well. I always have women fawning all over me." I teased.

"That's not what I mean." She sighed. "It's hard to explain. I never go hungry, and we're not poor, but I don't get everything I want, either."

"Well, of course." I mused. "I get anything I ask and more. My Father and I had this running joke. I crashed his BMW once."

"Crashing a BMW?" She gasped. "Those things cost more than my house!"

"Your house costs less than my shoes." I pointed out. She grunted and mumbled something I didn't catch. "And once, I rerouted Father's helicopter to get ice cream."

She rolled her eyes. "Spoiled boy Daniel."

"Mhm. I just do what I want when I want." I got an idea. "Speaking of that, want to go shopping?"

"You're in a hospital. We can't shop."

"Not right now, silly. I'm talking about sometime this week. We'll go shopping for normal street clothes for me. You can buy whatever you want." I grinned thinking about it. Father would be mad, but he'd get over it.

"I don't want your money, Daniel. I never did."

I frowned. "It wouldn't be taking my money. Come on, Sam, you can't wear the same thing every day."

"On one condition." She grinned wickedly.

"I don't like that expression on your face." I paused. When she didn't continue, I spoke up again. "Fine. Whatever you want."

"We get matching uniforms!" She clapped her hands. "Just think about it. Phantom and Plasmius unite!"

I scoffed. "Yeah, if that doesn't place a big target on our backs I don't know what will."

"I've already designed them." She grinned. "I think we'll look good. I just need you to fund them."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, so you don't want my money, just my wallet, hmm?"

"No! I'm just saying! If we're out there kicking ass together, we should match!"

"What about Tucker?" I asked.

"What about him?"

"Does he get an outfit too?"

She scoffed again. "We both know he'd never wear it."

"If he wants to be on team Plasmius he would need to." I smirked.

"Team Plasmius? I don't think so!"

"We'll have to come up with a name, then. We're not calling ourselves team Phantom."

"But Phantom is a great name!" She insited.

"No."

"But—"

"No."

"Fine." She scowled.

"Should we brainstorm ideas?" I asked.

"We'd need to do it with Tucker."

"Speaking of him, where is he? You were so worried about him." I crossed my arms.

"He's home resting. He told me about how they cornered him at school. They kidnapped him a month ago, and tortued him. You were right." She sighed. "He's pretty messed up."

"I wish there was some way to help him." I sighed. "I may not like the kid, but I started this mess."

"Yes, you did."

"Did they get anything out of him?" I asked.

"From what he told me, no. He didn't have around you enough to get any secrets from you."

"I guess that's a plus."

I heard a knock on the door. We both turned, to see a tall man with a clipboard walk in. He was pale, with balding gray hair. "Hello, Mr. Masters. I am Dr. Smith. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." I smiled. Sam stood and moved away from my bed. She sat on the couch by the wall.

"According to your father's statement. You were burned while cooking and had a bad reaction." He flipped a page in the clipboard.

"Yes, that's correct." I never thought of a cover story. How the hell would I explain being shot with a ghost beam?

"And you have leukemia, correct?" He asked.

"Had. I don't have it anymore." I stated.

"That's good. I'd hate to see someone who has his whole life ahead of him be riddled by disease!" he laughed.

"Uh huh." I agreed.

"There's something that concerns me, Mr. Masters." Dr. Smith frowned.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Your records indicate that you spent three months in France under treatment of a Dr. Dubois."

"Yes. She's very kind. We all loved her. But what's the issue?"

"Perhaps France is different than America, but you have absolutely no records from France."

I paled. "Are you certain? I thought for sure that they'd have the records."

"I think you're hiding something." He put down his clipboard and walked forward. I automatically tensed. "Mr. Masters. Are you the victim of child abuse?"

I instatantly relaxed. That was about the most far off thing I have ever heard. I almost wanted to laugh. "No, Dr. Smith. My father loves me very much, and he would never strike me."

"What about your mother?"

I froze. "What about her?"

"Was your Mother ever abusive towards you?"

"No." I leaned forward. "My parents both love me very much."

He crossed his arms. "Now I know you're hiding something. I pulled your complete history. That's what took me so long to get here today. Your mother was reported missing six months ago. Your house in Wisconsin burned to the ground. Your Father and you have disappeared off the grid until you showed up here. Tell me Daniel, what are you hiding?"

"Wait just a minute!" Sam jumped to her feet. "This isn't a trial!"

"No, but it could be, little missy! I care very deeply about my patients, and if there is any abuse in this I will find out about it."

"Why do you think so strongly there is abuse?" I asked.

"The facts don't add up, Mr. Masters. I am trying to help you." He sighed. "I know it's none of my business."

"Then stay out of it!" Sam said angrily. "Nobody asked your opinion."

"If you don't cool your jets I will call security." He said, then turned back to me.

"Look, man, I appreciate you trying to help me. Really, I do. The truth is my parents are divorcing."

"Your mother has not been heard from in six months. It's quite simple, really. I'd say an argument got out of hand, your father killed your mother and burned down the house and brainwashed you, his only remaining heir."

I got to my feet. "You do not criticize my father in that way!" My anger was starting to bubble up. I fought my ghost side from showing any signs. "My mother's death was an accident!"

"You admit it!" He clapped his hands. "Your mother's 'death'. You admit something."

I growled. This human was about to make me very angry. I couldn't help my anger. "What are you playing at?" I asked him, my voice cold.

He walked forward until we were face to face. "I don't think you're human."

I stopped dead. "What?"

"You're not human, are you?" He repeated. "I have only heard tales, of course, but if you weren't human everything would add up."

I paled. "What the hell? Why would you think I'm not human?"

"When I did your examination, Mr. Masters, you could guess how surprised I was when I noticed you had fangs."

I looked at Sam. I could tell she was as speechless as I was. Ironically, it was her who came to my rescue.

She laughed. "You're ridiculous! Do you hear yourself? How can he not be human? Fake fangs rally make you question your morals?"

"I thought the same thing." He smiled slyly. "Which is why when I did a CAT scan, I noticed how unusual yours was. Behind your fangs, you have poison glands, similar to a snakes. Also, unlike humans, you have claws."

I face palmed. There was no swaying this dude.

 _Daniel, don't._

I started. _He knows. He probably wants to blackmail me._

 _I know. Don't tell him anything._

"So I'm right?" He laughed shakily. "Everyone has been calling me a liar. When I go public—"

"Public?" My eyes flashed green. "I don't think so."

He took a step back. "Let me rephrase that."

"You will not go public." I grinned like a madman.

He looked very uncomfortable. "Give me ten million dollars and I'll keep quiet."

"How about I cut out your vocal cords? Can't speak then."

He bit his lip. "I will not be threatened by a 15-year-old."

"But you had no problem threatening me, huh? Don't like the tables turned?" I crossed my arms.

"I can't be threatened." He huffed.

"That's what you think." I steped back up to him. "You think you can threaten me? You have just made your final mistake. I am the son of billionaire Vladimir Masters. Who do you think they'll believe? A non name doctor from the smallest town in Michigan, or the world-wide CEO of five multi-million dollar companies?"

"Daniel, that's enough." Sam walked over to me. "Let the man leave with some pride."

I looked back over to Dr. Smith. "This is what's going to happen. You will release me tonight." He started to protest, but I cut him off. "Release me tonight. You will never hear from me again."

He looked back and forth between us. "Fine. I will get your discharge papers." He left the room.

"Holy shit, Daniel." Sam breathed. "You weren't kidding."

"No. And that's not even the first time I have gotten it, either." I shook my head. "You'll get used to it."

"I'll get used to it? What do you mean?" She crossed her arms.

"Well, yes. If you're my girlfriend now, you may occasionally get threats too. You have to be prepared." I sighed.

She scowled. "Uh huh. I would've smacked him up a little."

"That's you, not me."

"Whatever." I smiled. "We're getting out of here tonight. When we do, we need to find my father."


	21. Beasts

"I'm just saying, Daniel, we would make a good team! We need to have matching uniforms." Sam was saying.

"I agree. But not on matching uniforms." I frowned.

"You're no fun." She pouted.

"You're annoying."

We were flying around Amity Park. I had been using my powers to figure out where Father was, but I wasn't having any luck. We were both in our ghost forms, and I noticed that I still had the gold hue. I guess Clockwork was right, I would always show that I am a God now. I paused. I could see the vibrations of everyone and everything, but I still couldn't locate Father.

"This is annoying." I scowled. "I have no luck in this."

"Maybe we should slow down." Sam responded.

"We can't. We don't know if they're in danger." I hovered in mid air. "Father said he was going to track Skulker's ecto signature. The problem is I don't have any equipment to do that with."

"I do." She grinned. "Follow me." She dipped down and flew down to her house. She phased through a window on the second floor. Her room was small, with a twin sized bed. The walls were blue, with light wood flooring. She pulled a gigantic box out from under her bed.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a box of weapons I confiscate from my parents for being too dangerous for me." She responded.

I frowned. "O-okay. So, do you have something in here that'll help?"

"I think so. Dad calls it the booomerang. It's how I found you in the Ghost World. I had two." She pulled out a boomerang from the box. It was bent like an elbow, painted bright white with a green F on the side.

"I recognize it. It almost smacked me if I didn't catch it." I took it out of her hand. "How does it work?"

"You just say, find dad and it'll lock on his signature." She looked down at it.

"Sammy?" A voice knocked at the door. "Is that you?"

Sam looked at me in a panic. "Hide!" She hissed. She changed back into her human form, and I snickered. She glared at me.

I shrugged and turned invisible. It had the same effect.

The door opened. Sam's mother, Maddie, stepped in. "You know you should use the front door! I don't know why you insist on climbing through the window, or whatever it is you do." She walked over to Sam, and kissed her forehead, pushing her black hair from her face. "You need to use less eyeliner, people will think you're a Goth"

"Mom, I am Goth!" She rolled her eyes.

"It's a phase." Maddie sighed.

"It's not a phase. It's who I am." She crossed her arms.

"Uh huh." Maddie crossed her arms. "I'm sure it is."

"What do you want, Mom? I'm busy!"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. Dinner's ready." She smiled happily.

"You had to come all the way into my room to tell me that?" She scowled.

"I just wanted to see if you were home!" She replied.

"I'm home. I'll be right down. Bye, Mom!"

"Fine." She scoffed. "I'll see you downstairs, Sammy."

"Okay bye!" Sam closed the door behind her.

I laughed. I had been sitting on her bed, looking at my cellphone. I could still see the screen, because to me, everything that was invisible was visible. "You're not a very good actor, Sam. Your mother could probably hear me laughing."

"Har har!" She rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Sam. I still can't find anything. I've tried texting my Father's ghost associates and nothing works." I scowled.

"Your dad has ghost associates?" She asked. "Like who?"

"Like Knight." I shrugged. "Unfortunately, Knight says he's tied in in the castle, so he can't help at all."

"How do you talk to people in another dimension?" She asked.

"My father cracked interdimensional communication a long time ago." I replied calmly. "It's just like a cellphone, but it only reaches the Ghost World, and not the human one. Father gave it to me in case of an emergency."

"Who's Knight?" She asked, taking a seat beside me.

"Knight is the King and Queen's guard. He provides transport for the Royal Family. If anyone knew anything, it'd be him. I don't think they're in the Ghost World."

"So where are they?"

"I don't know! My father is the _best_ when it comes to not wanting to be found if he doesn't want to be." I groaned.

"So what are we going to do?" She asked. "You have no other way of getting in touch with him?"

"I guess not." I scowled. I looked at the boomerang. I phased out the window. "Find Father!" I yelled and threw it. The ling blinked rapidly green, swung around in a big arc and came back at me. I ducked. "Son of a bitch!" I flew down and caught it before it hit the ground.

"I have an idea!" Sam took the boomerang from my hand. "Find Vladimir Masters!" She threw the boomerang. The light blinked rapid green, and then turned red and started blinking slower. It switched directions, and continued on.

"Come on!" I formed my spectral tail, and I soared after it at my top speed. I felt Sam grab my tail, which I was fine with. If it helped her not to get lost. The boomerang was fast, but once I caught up to it I slowed down.

"Since when do you have a tail?" She asked. "I've literally never seen you have one."

"I don't use it very much. I prefer not to take the time to form my legs after flying." I shrugged.

"Lazy ass!" She laughed.

"Uh huh." I smirked.

The boomerang continued on, out of town, until we were back in Elmerton. I started to get nervous. Was Father at the carnival again?

Suddenly, it stopped.

I came to a halt. The boomerang flashed green again, and dropped to the ground. I looked around. We were in an open field, not a building in sight. I formed my legs and landed on the ground. There was a puddle of ectoplasm under my feet. I narrowed my eyes. Father and Skulker were the meanest, strongest dudes I knew. Having Father under mind control was one thing, but both of them missing again?

"I don't like this." Sam whispered. "I'm feeling the heebie jeebies. Can we turn back?"

"If it was your father, would you?" I hissed back.

She didn't respond. I knew I had hit a soft spot. I looked around. The ground was slightly vibrating. I put my hand on the ground and felt the vibrations. There was something big going on here. It was either a very large animal, or a very large group of people.

Suddenly, I heard a scream. It was Skulker's.

I perked up instantly and followed the sound of the voice. I rounded the side of the field, where a large clump of tall grass was. Skulker was being chased by a gigantic ghost dog. I flew forward to blast it, but then I saw the dog lick him. I stopped. What the fuck?

I'm sure I must've had a confused expression on my face. Skulker turned, feeling my presence, and smiled. "Hey, Daniel!"

My jaw hung open. "Uncle?"

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked, as he was currently running from the dog.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Your father found this dog!" He said.

"My father…" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Where is he?"

"Uhh, not sure." He laughed, and flew up to the dogs face, and rubbed his muzzle. "Aren't you a good dog Cujo? Yes you are!"

I looked over at Sam. She shrugged. "You know you guys are speaking ghost speak, right?"

"Oh." I frowned. "Sorry. Did you understand anything?"

"Some. Actions speak louder than words."

"Father!" I yelled loudly, startling Sam.

Father appeared from the tree. "Not now, Daniel!" He swatted his hands. His ear was bleeding slowly, a little puddle of ectoplasm running down his shoulder. "That dog is evil!"

In response, the dog growled at Father. Father shrank back into the tree.

"I was seriously worried about the pair of you and you two are playing with a dog?!" I hissed.

"It's the best hunt!" Skulker replied. "And we get to keep him."

" _We are not keeping that mutt!"_ Father yelled. Cujo ran around Skulker and started barking at Father, who shrieked. "Bad Cujo! Go home!"

I buried my face in my hands. I could feel embarrassed about being so worried, but I felt overwhelming relief that they were okay.

"Where's Ember?" Sam asked.

"She's around." Skulker replied. "I think she's shopping. She wasn't impressed with Cujo."

"Getting better." I poked Sam's arm.

She blushed. "Well, I did have a great teacher."

"It probably helps that we speak it a lot, since I never could grasp a language I never heard being spoken." I replied. "It's probably why I don't speak Spanish."

"We could always go and keep Ember company." She suggested.

"Take me with you!" Father responded in English. "Save me, son!"

I snorted laughter. I flew up to Cujo. The dog didn't move beyond growling quietly, but he kept his eyes on me. I reached out and pet his muzzle. "Good Cujo, good dog." I said slowly.

The dog barked happily. Without warning, he shrunk down in size, becoming the size of a small puppy. He landed perfectly in my arms. I flew up to Father. "You still afraid of tiny Cujo, hmm?" The dog growled the closer he got to Father. I snickered.

"Daniel, I swear on all that is holy in this world if you bring that dog any closer I will slay you!" He snuggled closer to the tree.

"Fine, fine." I shrugged. I pet Cujo on his neck absentmindedly.

"Let me see him!" Sam asked.

I flew over to her, and Cujo licked her face. I let her hold him. "Still a fine hunt?" I asked Skulker.

"Always." Skulker floated over to us. He pet him behind the ears.

"Is it a good idea to be out in the open like this?" Sam asked. "I don't like this. I still have the heebie jeebies."

I frowned. "I didn't think about it till just now. What else could possibly go wrong?" I looked around, everyone was suddenly tense.

"Let's go join Ember, then! Nothing like blending in with the crowd." She suggested.

Skulker shrugged.

"Alright." Father jumped out of the tree. He was still wary of the dog.

"I'd love to go shopping for some more clothes. Some actual clothes, Father, not business casual." I said slowly.

"You mean poor people's clothes?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"To blend in! I don't blend in wearing Giorgio." I pleaded. "Pleeeease?"

Father scowled. "If it will make you happy, I guess we can do that." He crossed his arms. "But nothing better have holes in it."

"Holes? Why would something have a hole in it if it's new?"

"Please. I've seen your classmates." He waved his hand.

"Thanks, Father!" I clapped my hands excitedly.

"You owe me." He sighed. "I'll meet you guys there." He was gone in an instant.

I looked at Skulker. "What store?"

"Amity Park Mall." Sam replied. "It's the only mall in Amity."

"See you there." I took the dog from Sam and gave him to Skulker. I took Sam's hand and teleported both of us to the mall. We were out in the parking lot. I turned back to my human form. Sam did the same, straightening her skirt. "I'm buying you new clothes."

"You don't need to." She replied. "My clothes are fine."

"Sam, you wear the same thing every day. Let me spoil you just once."

She groaned. "Fine. But this is the only time."

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

She blushed. "Don't think you're off the hook, though. You own me."

"I'll add you to the list." I grinned. A light blush was on my cheeks also.

"You two are so cute!" A voice in front of us said. We both turned to look at her. An African-American girl around out age with long, curly black hair and green eyes came up to me. "I'm Valerie, but you can call me Val." She extended her hand to me.

I shook it. "Nice to see someone around this town has manners." I laughed. "Most people look at me like I'm nuts. I'm Daniel Masters."

"Yeah, I know who you are." Val blushed. "Everyone at school has been talking about you."

"Good things, I hope?" Father walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, of course, Mr. Masters!" Val responded, but she sounded flustered. "Just mostly about how he can't seem to stay out of the hospital."

"Well, yes, Daniel is a very sickly child." Father sighed. "Oh well, he's healthy now and that's what counts."

I glared at Father. He pretended not to notice and kept smiling at Val.

"Anyway, I'm going to run. Nice meeting you Daniel, and Mr. Masters! Bye, Sam." She waved as she walked off.

"Something about how she said your name has me on guard." I frowned.

Sam looked pissed. "Valerie is someone from the popular crowd. She's probably going to tell Paulina and Star all about us being together."

"What's so bad about that?" I asked.

"You don't get them like I do, Dan. They'll crush you like a bug for even associating with me." She sighed. "Forget it. It's not important."

"If you say so…" I trailed off.

"Ah, there you are, Ember!" Father suddenly spoke. He walked off to the left. I turned around. Ember was standing there with a multitude of bags, and some guy I had never seen before was hanging around her. He was about 5'6, with short cropped black hair, a muscular build and blue eyes. He looked to be around our age.

"Vladimir! Thank God!" Ember said. "This dude keeps hanging around me, but I can't understand anything he's saying!"

The guy looked over at us. "Back away! This pregnant lady needs space! As a gentlemen, I will guard her and protect her!"

I face palmed. "Oh god."

"What's he saying?" Ember asked.

"He says he's trying to protect you." I responded, and frowned. I looked at the guy. "You're making her uncomfortable." I responded in English.

"No I'm not! I'm being a perfect gentlemen! Look, I'll grab her bags." He reached towards her bags, but Ember shrieked and pulled her bags away. She said a long like of profanity I didn't even know existed.

"Dude!" I walked over to Ember and pulled him away from her. "Stop!" I grabbed him by the collar.

"Daniel, stop!" Sam ran over. "That's Kwan! He goes to school with us!"

I growled. "He's making my Aunt uncomfortable."

"Your aunt?" Kwan asked. "She's so young!"

"So?" I asked. I still had him by the collar of his shirt.

"Please put me down." Kwan asked.

"Stay away from my Aunt! You're creeping her out!" I hissed.

"I was just trying to help, dude!"

"Daniel! He's harmless, put him down!" Sam yelled.

"My aunt is Mexican, she only speaks French and Spanish. Just for future reference, if she looks creeped out, leave her alone!" I almost growled.

"Got it!" Kwan wrestled himself free of my grip and ran.

"Daniel!" Sam looked pissed. "What is up with you? You're so angry all the time!"

Father frowned. "Could it be left over from the 'illness'? It would make a lot of sense."

I scowled. "I'm not angry!"

"You sound very angry, Daniel." Father put his hand on my shoulder. "We'll talk about this when we get home."

I crossed my arms. "Fine."

"What did you even buy, Ember?" Father asked.

"Little bit of everything!" She chirped happily. She started to show him the things she'd bought.

I turned to Sam. "Where do you want to shop?"

"If I didn't want to show you what to buy I'd leave your ass here. What is up with you?" She asked. "You don't seem like yourself."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I don't know Sam. Things are complicated right now."

"Alright." She sighed. "Let's just shop to take our minds off of it."

Sam took my hand. Her touch was comforting. Her hand was ice cold, though. "You know, your hand is cold."

"Well, it is winter." She replied.

"That's not what I meant." I scowled.

"Your hand is warm." She grinned.

"Glad you're happy." I rolled my eyes.

We were walking through the mall, passing varying stores. Lots of people smiled at us, but I paid no attention to. "Ooh, can we go in here?" She stopped.

I looked up at the sign. It read the Skurk and Lurk. I shrugged. "Sure."

We walked in. On one side were a bunch of chairs. Sort of like a dining restaurant. On the other side, were a bunch of clothing racks with dark colored clothing. "This place looks like teenage angst."

"It is teenage angst." She replied. "But it's also a clothing store!"

"Is this where you want to shop for more clothes?" I asked.

"No, they're too overpriced. I just want to say hi to Spike." She grinned. She walked up to the counter, where a man was standing. He was very pale, almost vampire-like pale, and had spiked black hair. "Hey, Spike!"

"Hey, S. What's up?" Spike's voice drawled on.

"This is Dan. My boyfriend." She pointed towards me.

Spike turned to look at me. "Sup, D. Your bleak outlook on life makes the work darker."

"Is that a compliment?" I asked. "Because I have no idea what that means."

Sam snickered. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you hi. We're going to get going."

"Stay dark, S." He waved. I waved back, but Sam grabbed my hand and shook her head.

I scowled. "Your friends are weird."

"Just my Goth ones." She hummed happily. It seemed like she was happiest out of school. It was really cute. "What were your friends like in Wisconsin?"

I paused. "They haven't talked to me since before my puberty." I frowned.

"Some friends." She scoffed.

I stayed silent. I didn't want to talk about it. Did they really forget me that fast?


	22. Talks

When we got home, Sam helped me put all my clothes away. I still got the most expensive clothes they sold, but I was kind of excited. For the first time ever, I would look like a normal boy. I would finally blend in here. Sam had picked me out a bunch of blue jeans, with different shirts with different designs. For gym class, which I started Monday, she picked me out shorts and tank tops. I had a bunch of new sneakers also. My favorite pair was a black-and-red pair of sneakers with red laces.

"You have a lot of suits." Sam pointed out. She was looking at my 'business' side of my closet now, where we had moved all my suits and business casual clothes.

"Father took me to galas a lot." I replied, walking over to look at the suits. Most were black, but I also had a few white and gray ones. "We haven't been to any since we moved, though. Too much has been happening."

"Yeah, I've noticed." She said quietly. "Is it normally this hectic in your life?"

"No." I responded. "When I was growing up, Father was away at work a lot, but he always took us to school, cooked us breakfast, helped me do my hair…" I trailed off. The memories were flashing around my mind.

"Tell me about how your mom used to be." She said suddenly.

I looked at her, and suddenly my eyes stung. "My mother was the kindest, most loving mother I've ever seen. We were lucky she was in our lives. She was one of those people that would brighten the room whenever she walked into it." I smiled happily.

Sam smiled warmly. _He looks so happy. His mom must mean a lot to him._

"My mother does mean a lot to me." I replied.

"Riiight. Mind reading." Her smile faded. "Did you ever ask your dad about that? Perhaps he knows why only we know each other's thoughts."

"No, I never did." I responded, my smile fading. I stopped dead. Something Madeline said to me suddenly clicked in my mind.

"Daniel, what is it?" She looked concerned.

My mouth gaped, and I opened and closed it several times trying to speak. I gulped. "I just thought of something."

She frowned. "You're scaring me, Daniel. What's on your mind?"

"My mother's ghost side is all that's left of her. When I died, my sister Madeline told me that if I truly want to free my mother, I'll have to kill her." I bit my lip. "I don't think I'll be able to do it."

She sighed. "Daniel, sometimes we have to do things that are evil, for the good cause." She put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "We're heroes. If it comes down to it, I know you'd be able to do it."

"I can't." Tears came out of my eyes, and my lip trembled. "I'm not strong enough."

Sam's expression said it all: she felt pity for me. I didn't want her pity. I pulled away from her. She tried to grab my hand, but I pulled mine from her grip. I walked out of my room, and down the hall. I saw Father standing in the living room, cussing at someone on the phone. When he saw me, he first put a finger up to keep me silent, but then he saw my expression.

"Martha, I'm going to have to call you back. Yes, I'm sure! I don't care! Fix it!" He ended the call. "Daniel, my boy, what's going on?"

"Something Madeline said to me finally clicked." I responded quietly.

"Madeline?" His face scrunched. "You mean…?"

"Yes." I bit my lip. I suddenly threw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. I felt him tense up, then relax. He was wearing a casual green turtleneck sweater. My eyes started to tear up again.

I heard footsteps, and Father spoke quietly. "Samantha, can you give us a moment?"

"Sure." Her footsteps receded.

"Daniel, please talk to me." Father stoked my hair. "What's going on?"

"Remember when I died—"

"I _hate_ it when you say that." He sighed. "Sorry. Continue."

"Madeline and I talked for a while. I asked her about Mother."

He froze. "What did she say?"

I looked into his eyes. His eyes were also brimming with tears threatening to spill over. "She said I will have to kill her to free her. I can't do it."

"You won't have to." He took my hands. "I will make the sacrifice for you."

I shook my head. "No, Father. I think she meant that I had to do it. Not you, me." I sighed. My voice sounded broken, even to me. "She said, to free her from her evil self, she must be killed. Then she can truly be at peace."

"Oh, Daniel…" He hugged me tightly. "You are strong, little badger. We will get through this."

"Father, do you think it was a mistake to move to Amity Park?" I asked.

"Why would you say that?" He pulled away from me.

"I don't know. It just seems that since we've moved here, we haven't really had time to do anything. Today was the first time we've had a family outing since we've moved." I sighed.

"Remember I told you that Amity Park has a lot more spectral activity?" He asked.

"Yes." I frowned. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Well, your Uncle is having a fun time hunting the ghosts. And of course, your friend, Sam. What I'm saying though, Daniel, that you've also have a few truffles with the ghosts. Between that and your ghost puberty, it's been very hectic. Maybe now it'll calm down some."

"Mother is still on the loose." I pointed out. "So is Danielle and Freakshow. We have to stay on guard."

"Speaking of that." He smiled. "I have something for you. Samantha gave me the design."

My eyes narrowed. "She didn't."

"Oh, yes, she did." He smiled. "I tweaked it some. I even came up with a name for your team!" He looked too pleased with himself.

"Well, let's hear it." I rolled my eyes.

"Exodus." He held up the costume for me. The costume was light green, with white boots, gloves and collar. On the chest, it had a black E on the front. I actually liked it. I walked over to him slowly, and felt the fabric with my fingers. It was soft and cool.

"Okay, I give in. This is cool!" I took the jumpsuit from him. "Sam!" I yelled. "Get out here!"

Sam came out of my room slowly. She saw the jumpsuit in my hands, and ran over quickly. "Oh, sweet! You made it, Mr. Masters!"

"Yes I did, Samantha. I have to admit, I was skeptical when you came to me with the idea, but I see the sense in it." He hummed happily, and walked over and got the second suit from the table. Sam's suit was identical to mine, except hers had a skirt around the waist. "I also designed utility tool belts for the pair of you. They will hold devices that you can use for scuffles."

I frowned. "You make this sound like we're going to be ghost fighting."

"Not ghosts, no." Father walked over to Sam, handing her the suit. "You're right, Daniel. Something is coming. We just don't know what yet. The weapons on the utility belt will fight anything. Ghosts, humans, aliens, you name it."

"Aliens?" Sam asked. "Isn't that a little ET?"

He laughed. "Yes. We just need to be prepared for anything."

"I don't understand. You both keep saying that something is coming. Why won't you tell me what it is?" She pouted. "I thought we were in this together."

I looked at Father hopefully. He nodded. "Sam, there's something we've been keeping from you. Follow me, I'll tell you all about it."

"Daniel, if this is something stupid I swear—"

"It's not stupid." I interrupted. "This was the entire reason you're not rotting in a ghost jail cell right now."

She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it. "Fine."

"I know you won't be able to read it. I had trouble with it, even. My grandfather, King Pariah, showed this to me when you interrupted the celebration. I was just as shocked as you." I had led her back to my room. I opened a drawer in my desk, and pulled out an ancient book. I flipped to a bookmarked page. I cleared my throat and read:

 _When the day comes that kingdoms collide, a miscommunication shall bring forth the fall of a false god._

 __

 _When the time comes that siblings rival, a white haired man shall bring forth an age of kinship and the downfall of two kingdoms._

 _When the sun turns dark, a sudden death shall bring forth the downfall of an empire._

 __

 _When the world becomes shrouded in shadows, the prophet shall usher forth a new life and a reunion of enemies._

 _Only by the hand of a created can an embarrassing defeat cause an end to our suffering._

"What?" Sam's mouth gaped. "I didn't understand any of that."

"Sam, I read it in perfect English. If you want me to read it again—"

"Not that, Daniel." She grabbed the book from my hands, but after a few seconds gave it back to me. "It doesn't make sense. From the smudges on the book, I think it's been changed."

"Changed?" I asked. I looked at the book, but it looked completely fine to me. "Who would tamper with a prophecy thousands of years old?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She sighed. "I think something was removed."

I scowled. I wonder if I got into contact with Grandfather if he could say anything about it. But first, I would ask Father. I walked back into the living room. Father was texting someone from his phone.

"Hey, Father, I wanted to ask you something." I started.

"Wait. Before you tell me whatever it is, I think we have a problem." Father got to his feet. "I was just in contact with Knight. He says there is rising conflict. He wants us to return."

"But Father, we just got back! We can't go back. Your companies, my school…" I shook my head, setting the book down on the table. "It's not a good idea."

"Skulker and Ember already headed home. My father told him to return. What worries me is that Knight was vague in his messages." He wrung his hands. "We may need to go just to see what's going on."

"Do we have to?" I asked. "I don't mean to sound like a bratty teenager when I say this—"

"That's a first." He snorted laughter.

"But Father," I continued, ignoring his jab. "Can we really afford to leave again?"

"I understand your concern, Daniel." He sighed. "Really, I do. But the Ghost World is our home just as much as this one. We owe it to our family and the inhabitants of the Ghost World to investigate."

I bit my lip. I didn't want to leave again. Father was right, though. We were part ghost, we had an obligation to protect our home from threats. "Wait." My eyes widened. "Father. What if whatever this threat is, it starts in the Ghost World?"

His phone fell from his hands, and he made no effort to pick it up. "Oh god. You may be right. I will get in contact with my companies and announce another absence."

"Don't blame it on my health this time." I frowned. "I'm running out of excuses."

"Well, what will I say then?" He scowled. "I love picking on your poor health."

"Tell the truth." Sam said suddenly. "Tell them about the death of your wife."

We both froze. "Samantha, haven't told anyone about anything. How would we even do that?"

"A press conference, duh!" She replied.

I looked at Father. "She has a point."

"Why are you taking her side?" He asked. "I feel attacked."

I punched the bridge of my nose. "Father. We knew this was going to happen sometime. Why not now?"

He sighed. "Daniel, sometimes decisions in life aren't easy. You know this."

"I never said it was going to be easy, Father!" I said, desperation taking over my voice. "If our home is in danger, the more time we stand here arguing puts it more in danger!"

"You're right." He sighed. He looked at his watch. It was late at night. "We leave first thing in the morning. Get packed, Daniel. We're going to be there a while."

I nodded. I looked down at the book on the table. I had completely forgotten about it. I picked it up, and walked back to my room. Sam followed me. "Don't even think about it. You're not coming."

"Why not?" She scowled. "You can use my help."

"You can't leave your parents again." I said softly. "It will destroy them."

"I know you're right. I'm worried for you, though." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I just want to help."

"I know, babe." I took her hands. "If you really want to help, you will continue to train. Continue to learn ghost speak."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Keep in contact with me, please?"

"Of course." I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and handed it to her. "This is my Ghost World cellphone. I like to call it my GWC." I laughed.

"GWC, okay." She laughed.

"It's only got a few numbers in it. Father's, Knight, Skulker's, so on. I'll get Father to get me another one. It won't be hard." I smiled.

"Please be careful." He rested her forehead on mine and closed her eyes.

I kissed her forehead. "I'm always careful."

"No, you're not." She shook her head sadly. "Stop being so damned heroic. It'll actually get you killed someday."

"I did die." I frowned. "It's almost like you forgot."

"But you came back to us, Daniel." She sighed. "I hate talking about your death."

"Well, let's talk about yours then." I paused. "How did you die?"

She hesitated. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Fine." She paused. "Tucker and I decided we knew better than my parents and we went down to the lab and fixed the portal. It was actually easy. The problem came when I turned it on. It trapped me in there and zapped me. When I woke up, I was a ghost and I couldn't figure out how to change back. It was the worst experience of my life."

"I'm sorry, Sam. Nobody should have to go through that." I sighed. "At least you don't have that pain anymore."

"I never told my parents. What would they say?" She shook her head. "I live in fear of what they will do. Even though I don't feel the pain of dying anymore, I still live with the pain of that action every day."

"Do you regret it?" I asked.

"No. Even though it changed my life, I wouldn't undo it for the world."

"Sam, becoming a ghost shaped who you are, and who you're going to be. I didn't know you back then, but I'm sure you were a kickass back then, and even more so now."

"You think so?" She smiled. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around her waist.

"I know it." I kissed her softly. I loved kissing her. Her cold energy would mix with my hot energy, and it would just feel natural. I felt the same reaction when I held her hand or cuddled with her. It was almost like I felt better just by being around her.

"You know, you never officially asked me to be your girlfriend." She smirked.

"Samantha Fenton. Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" I smiled.

"I think I will, Daniel." She smiled.

"Mmm." I kissed her again. "Good, because I think I've fallen for you pretty hard."

She blushed. "You're such a smooth talker. Did you have any girlfriends before me?"

"Well, this girl named Lynn Caster wanted to ask me out. But I moved to Amity before we actually did anything. The only relationship experience I'd say I have would be the week-long relationship I had when I was 6 to this girl named Brittany." I snorted laughter.

"Oh jeeze." Sam's purple eyes sparkled playfully. "What did Brittany do for it only to last a week?"

"She stole my cookies." I laughed.

"Oh my god." She laughed also.

"Yep. Can't date a cookie stealer."

"Oh, Daniel. You make me laugh a lot." She grinned. "I really love that about you."

"Well, like you said, I'm a charmer." My smile faded. "I'm going to miss you, Sam."

"I'll miss you too." She sighed, burying her head in the crook of my neck.

I scooped her up by the feet. I sat us both on the bed. She gave me a look. "What? I got tired of standing."

"Good. I'm not ready to loose my virginity yet."

I blushed deeply. I could feel my entire entire face redden. "Oh my god, Sam. That was not what I was expecting you to say at all."

She blushed. "It just sort of came out."

"Mhm. I'm sure it did." I looked at the clock by my bed. "You know, it's like 11 PM now. Won't your parents be worried?"

"Probably." She sighed. "I don't want to go home, though."

"You could always stay the night." I winked.

" _Daniel Masters!"_ Sam gasped. "Did you just ask your girlfriend to stay the night? Alone? In your bedroom?" She put her hands on her cheeks. "The horror!"

My blush returned. "Goddammit, Sam. You know what I meant!"

She laughed. "Too easy. I think I found a way to get under your skin, Mr. Perfect."

"Oh, bite me." I scowled.

"Aww, you're cute when you're flustered." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"I am not flustered."

"Major fluster." She grinned.

"You believe what you want." I rolled my eyes. "Can you at least text your parents and tell them you're ok? I don't want them to worry."

"They'll worry more if I tell them I'm at your house. Mom will come here and kick down the door. I'll just say I'm at Tucker's." She pulled out her cellphone and started to type.

I got up from the bed and walked over to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of PJs and started to change.

"Jeez! Warn me before you strip!" Sam blushed and turned away.

"Not like you haven't seen it before. I constantly train without a shirt." I frowned, pulling the pajama shirt over my head.

"You know what I mean!" She said quickly.

I smirked. I hadn't put on a pair of pants yet. On a whim, I decided to mess with her royally. I walked over to her. She covered her eyes. "What? Don't like what you see?"

Her blush was so red she was practically the sun by this point. "Daniel, I swear to god if you don't put pants on this instant—"

"Fine!" I put my hands in the air and walked back to where I had laid the pants. I slipped them on. "Do you want a set?"

"Sure." She replied.

I grabbed her a pair of plain PJs for her. I tossed them to her, and she caught them.

"Thanks." She smiled nervously.

"Bathroom's the first door on your left."

"Heh. Thanks." She got up and walked out the door.

I walked back over to the bed. The bed was easily big enough for four people. I crawled into bed and set the alarm. I was fiddling with it whenever Sam walked back in.

"So, is there like a guest room or something?" She asked. She was carrying her old clothes in one hand. She was wearing plain white pajamas. She still looked hella cute, though.

"I just figured you'd sleep in here. The bed's big enough." I put down the alarm.

"Are you sure your dad will be okay with that?" She sounded unsure.

"I did this sort of thing all the time. He's probably used to it by now." I yawned, relaxing into my pillow.

"Okay. But if he's mad I'm blaming you." She put down the clothes on top of my dresser. She crawled in bed on the other side of me. "Wow! This is comfy."

"Best bed money can buy." I said sleepily.

She yawned. "Night, Daniel."

"Night, babe."

I rolled over and closed my eyes. I was asleep within a few seconds.

"Daniel James Masters!" Father's angry voice woke me up. I screamed and fell out of bed.

"What the hell?" I rubbed my head.

"You had Samantha stay the night?" He crossed his arms angrily.

"It was like midnight, Father. We'll be gone for god knows how long, so yes. I had her stay the night." I got to my feet. By now, Sam was awake, but she was hiding under the covers.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Daniel. I can't even tell you how furious I am."

"How is it any different then when we had Lynn stay the night? She stayed in my room, too!" I crossed my arms. "Or Noah? Or Andrea?"

"You aren't dating Lynn or Andrea!" He hissed.

"Father. We didn't do anything." I blushed. "We changed into PJs—she went into the bathroom down the hall—and I changed in here. _That's it."_

He puffed air out of his nose. "Damnit, Daniel. Fine. This time, you win. Next time, you ask me, okay?"

"I promise." I sighed. "Sorry I didn't ask you, Father. I just assumed you'd be okay with it."

"It's okay, Daniel. I was just mad because I'm too young to be a grandfather." He kissed my head.

I heard Sam groan from the bed. I blushed. "Father, I swear to all that is holy—"

"I'm leaving!" He laughed. "Breakfast is ready." He walked to the kitchen.

I looked over to Sam. "I really didn't think he'd be angry."

"Seems like you were wrong." She groaned. She flipped the covers down. Her hair was a tangled mess, but I'm sure mine was no better.

"You got some new clothes yesterday, right?" I asked.

"Umm. I think so. I'm glad I did. I wasn't planning on staying the night." She crawled out of bed and stretched.

I grinned like an idiot.

"What are you smiling for?" She asked. "It's like, way too early for this."

"I'm just thinking that you're beautiful."

She blushed. "Stop trying to get in my pants!"

My smile faded. "What? I never said I was trying to get in your pants."

"You keep making comments like that and you just might have a shot at it." She walked over into my closet and disappeared into it.

I blushed. "First you, now my dad, what else am I going to deal with this morning?" I groaned.

"How about a God?" Clockwork suddenly appeared right in front of me.

I'm not going to lie. I screamed like a little girl.


	23. Goodbyes

"Clockwork, if you don't start knocking I swear, you're going to regret it!" I made an aggravated noise.

"You going to smite me, Daniel?" Clockwork replied calmly, but his voice had a playful tone to it.

"Maybe." I scowled.

"I heard a scream!" Father ran into the room. "Daniel, are you—" He stopped. "Never mind." He spun on his heel and walked away.

Sam was laughing so hard that she was gasping for breath. "If I knew it was that easy to get rid of him, I would've done that ages ago." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Also, Daniel, you have the girliest scream I've ever heard in my life."

"Are you done?" I asked, annoyance tinging my voice.

"Almost." She took a deep breath. "Whew. I think I'm done."

I turned back to Clockwork. "What do you want?"

"Oh, so feisty." He walked over to me. "No respect for the man who saved your life."

"Wait. This is him?" Sam asked.

"Well, duh. Why do you think I'd have a reaction like that?"

"I just assumed you were an idiot."

I scowled. "Sorry, Clockwork. I meant no disrespect. It's just that I literally just woke up, and I haven't changed or brushed my teeth." I stopped my rambling and sighed.

"It's quite all right, Daniel. I'll forgive you." He smiled. "I came to drop off a present."

"No magical God training today?" I asked.

"Hmm. Not today." He held out a package to me.

I took it gingerly. It was wrapped with tan-colored paper held together by a string. "Uh, thanks?"

He snickered. "I saw that you got a wardrobe change, and I was just adding my part."

"How did you…?" I trailed off. "Never mind." I shook my head. I unwrapped the gift, to see a dark purple hooded cloak. I pulled it completely out of the package. It was just a simple dark purple cloak with an hourglass on the back. "Uh. Thanks, I guess."

"It may look like a normal cloak, similar to your royal one. What you fail to grasp is that this cloak will completely mask your ecto signature, protect you from any harm, and most importantly, look very stylish." He looked pleased with himself.

My mouth gaped. "Oh wow!" I held it up for Sam to see. She came over and looked at it. "Thank you so much, Clockwork, but I've got to ask. Why do I need a cloak?"

"As soon as you return to the Ghost World, everyone will notice your new gold hue." He smiled pleasantly. "With this cloak, you will set yourself in a position of authority within the Kingdom."

"Authority? How much are we talking here? I don't want to be in charge of anything." I frowned.

He laughed. "Just enough to set you apart from a normal ghost, Daniel. I'm sure the King will tell you everything once you arrive."

"Okay. If you say so…" I put the cloak on my dresser. "If you don't mind though, I need to brush my teeth and take a shower."

"Oh yes you do. You stink, Daniel." He wiggled his nose.

"Mm. I can smell you from here." Sam agreed.

"You're not helping!" I jabbed a finger in her direction. I heard her laugh. "I have one question, though."

"What's that?" He smiled pleasantly, almost as if he knew what the answer was.

"Why does the cloak have an hourglass?" I asked.

"The King will tell you." He replied. "Anyway, I will see you tomorrow, Daniel."

"Tomorrow?" I asked, but Clockwork had already vanished. "Sometimes I really hate that dude." I scowled.

"Aw, but he seemed nice." Sam shrugged.

"That was only the second time I've met him. I can't get a good read on him."

"You're probably not supposed to, Daniel." She responded. "He's doing it on purpose."

"I know you're right. I just hate people manipulating me." I stretched. "Anyway, I'm gonna hop in the shower." I kissed her cheek.

"You have terrible morning breath!" She complained.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatcha going to do about it, hmm?"

"Kick your ass." She cracked her knuckles in response.

"I'm soo scared!" I laughed. "If you want a shower, there's another bathroom near the training area."

"What about a toothbrush?" She asked.

"Uh. Check a drawer. Should have at least one extra in there." I shrugged. "See you in a bit." I grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

When I was done showering, I took a seat on my bed. I opened the drawer on my nightstand and pulled out my cell phone. I had given Sam my Ghost World cellphone, but I still had my human cellphone. I had no new texts. I decided to text Lynn.

 **D: Hey, Lynn. It's Daniel.**

 **L: Hey, Daniel! What's up?**

 **D: Not much here. What's going on in Gleset?**

 **L: You know, same old same old. Noah's become the new King.**

 **D: Figures. I wanted to ask you something.**

 **L: Go for it.**

 **D: Why haven't you talked to me since I moved?**

She didn't text back for a long time. I had just set down the cellphone when it chimed again.

 **L: I couldn't. Noah told us everything.**

 **D: Everything? What are you talking about?**

 **L: Like, how you go to a poor people's school.**

 **D: Lynn, I told you that the first day I moved here.**

 **L: Yes. But you never told me you're dating a commoner.**

 **D: How did you even find that out?**

 **L: You know me. I'm always with the top gossip. Anyway, Noah told everyone how you're surrounded by people with no money. Trailer trash.**

My mouth gaped open. The way she said this started to really bother me. Was that all they ever cared about? Money? Now that I was surrounded by non rich people, they didn't care anymore?

 **D: You only liked me for my money, didn't you?**

 **L: You're funny. Cute. My mother wanted me to get close to you so that I could get married to you someday. Take all your money. That's not why I did it. I did it because you're a good friend.**

 **D: A good friend wouldn't slander me. A good friend would stick up for me! You're no friend of mine.**

 **L: You don't mean that.**

 **D: Oh, yes I do. If there's anything that being in Amity Park has taught me, is that real friends are people who would stick with you through thick and thin. You guys ditched me the moment I left.**

 **L: Fine, Daniel. Believe what you want. You will rue the day you broke your friendship off with Lynn Caster.**

 **D: I'm sure I will.**

I sighed and put my phone down. I don't know why I was even shocked anymore. I should've realized this sooner. You spend your entire life hanging around someone and you don't really know them. I walked over to my closet. I grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans and a white top and threw them on. I walked back out to the kitchen. There was a stack of pancakes on the counter.

"Good morning, Daniel." Father smiled pleasantly.

"Good morning, Father." I walked over to the fridge and pulled out some butter. I grabbed half the pancakes, and sat down beside him. I was almost done with the plate of pancakes when Sam walked in. She was wearing a purple shirt, and black leggings. Her hair was wet, and she smelled wickedly good. I decided to keep that to myself, though. "Want any pancakes?" I asked her.

"Are they vegan?" She asked.

I laughed. "No. But we might have some broccoli in the fridge."

"You're vegan, Samantha?" Father asked.

"Yes." She frowned.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll get her to like meat." I took another bite of my pancakes.

"I'm sure you will, Daniel." He said smugly.

"What?" I thought about it for a second. Then, an immense blush came on my face. "Oh my god, Father! You're nasty!"

He took a sip of his coffee calmly. "Not nasty. It's just a part of life. Kind of like how you were born—"

"FATHER!" I yelled. "I do not need to hear about the birds and bees."

"If you insist." He turned the page in the newspaper he was reading.

I looked over at Sam. She was rummaging through the fridge. "You guys don't have anything for vegans in here!"

I frowned. It seemed like she was listening to our conversation. I didn't blame her for not wanting to say anything. I got up and put my plate in the sink. I wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and kissed her cheek. "Check the freezer. I love frozen strawberries."

"You couldn't just tell me that?" She asked, a light blush across her cheeks.

"Nope. It's a lot more fun to torture you." I smirked.

"Daniel." Father says loudly. "I need you to finish getting ready. We have to go."

"Go? Where are we going?" I asked.

"We're going to drop Samantha off at school, and while we're there I'm pulling you from the school." He set down his newspaper and looked at me.

"Pull me from school?" I asked.

"Yes. So that way you won't be behind. We'll just re-enroll you next year, with a private tutor. You can catch up a lot faster that way."

I could see the logic in his plan. I sighed. "Okay. So what's the excuse this time?"

"I'm going to tell the world your mother died, and that we're returning to France to be with family." He shrugged.

"I think that's a huge step, Mr. Masters." Sam smiled. "You have someone to watch the companies, right?"

"Yes. My co-owner Damon Gray." He took another sip of his coffee. "Alright you two, let's get going. It's already 7 AM, and I still have to make my statement." He walked out of the kitchen, leaving us two alone.

I shrugged. "I'm ready. It's incredibly easy to put clothes on that don't have a million buttons."

She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

I grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I'm yours."

She smiled. "You're so sweet." She kissed me softly on the lips.

"Sweet as pancakes." I agreed. "You ready to go?"

"No. But I guess I don't have a choice, huh?" She shook her head sadly.

"Nope. I'm sorry, Sam. I wish things could be different." I sighed.

"I understand. Your people come first. I get it."

"I'm glad you're understanding." I smiled weakly.

"You better stay in touch, Daniel. I'll kick your ass if you don't."

"I promise." I kissed her again. "Nothing could keep me away. Not even death."

"You two done?" Father was leaning against the door.

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied sadly. I kept my hold on her hand and walked over to Father. "Is Carl waiting?"

"Yes. He's outside." He responded. "Samantha, can I have a word?"

I frowned. "What about?"

"No concern of yours, Daniel." He responded. I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off. "No. Samantha, you stay."

Sam gritted her teeth. "It's okay, Daniel." Her voice didn't sound like it was okay, but I gave in.

"But…" I looked at Father, but he gave me a look. "Fine." I felt unsure, but I let go of her hand and continued to walk outside. I climbed into the car. "Hey, Carl!"

"Hello, Mr. Daniel. Heard you're leaving us again!" Carl leaned back in his seat to talk to me.

"Not for my health this time." I replied. "My mother died, you see. We're going back to France to be with family."

"Oh man. I'm sorry, Daniel. This must be so hard for you." Carl responded. "My parents are still alive and well. I can't imagine." He shook his head sadly.

"Yes it's very hard. It's going to be an adjustment, that's for sure." I sighed. I wondered what Father and Sam were talking about. I had packed a bag last night, and it was gone this morning so I knew it was in the trunk. I thought about the purple cloak. Clockwork was mysterious. I was excited to learn from him, though. I could only imagine the things he could teach me.

The car door opened and Sam and Father stepped in. I actually started a bit. I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I hadn't even seen them coming. "How'd it go?"

Sam shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

 _Your father is an asshat!_ Her voice came in my head.

 _I thought you didn't want to talk about it._

 _In front of him, duh._

 _So what did he have to say?_

 _Just the normal threats, keep my mouth closed, et cetera. He also told me not to wear my new costume until you two came back._

 _That's understandable._ I frowned. _Why do you hate my father?_

 _I don't hate him. Why would you think that?_

 _You're a bad liar._

 _Fine. I knew your father before you two moved here._

I paused. _What are you talking about?_

 _I see he never told you. I met your father about two or three months before you guys moved here. He wanted me to join him. But I got these like, creeper vibes from him so I told him off. He didn't like me very much after that and didn't leave me alone. So I started to fight him._

 _You fought my father?_

 _Yes, I had to. He attacked me._

I bit my lip. I could see why he never told me. Why didn't he trust me? Why didn't she?

 _Daniel?_

 _Sorry. I'm just kind of shocked. I noticed something was up with you two, but I didn't think it was this bad._

 _We've been working together fine since you moved here. Just a little left over aggression, I guess._

 _If you say so._

I looked outside. We were almost to Casper High.

"Are you nervous, Daniel?" Father asked.

"A little. I just got used to going to school here and now I'm being pulled out of it. Again." I scowled.

"You know it's for a good cause." He sighed.

"I know. Doesn't make it any easier." I felt Sam grab my hand. "I don't want to leave you, either."

"As long as you stay in touch on the other side of the world." She smiled.

"Always." I smiled.

"Do you two ever stop?" He groaned. "I'm going to get sick just sitting here."

"Nope." I grinned. "I love to annoy you."

"I know you do. You and Madeline would tag team me, remember?" He asked.

"Yep. She got you with the hair, I got you by generally being annoying." I smirked.

"I think if she were still here today, she would be more like you." He rolled his eyes.

"Probably. She always did look up to her big brother." I pounded my chest.

"By two minutes, Daniel." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Two whole minutes I didn't have to deal with her." I shrugged.

"You're impossible!"

My eyes lit up green. "Says the man afraid of a dog." I said in ghost speak so Carl couldn't understand me.

"You did not just say I was afraid of a dog!" He hissed, switching over.

"Oh yes I did, old man!" My voice had a playful undertone to it.

He opened and closed his mouth. He was completely shocked, I knew. I had never called him an old man before. "Well, if I'm an old man, what does that make you?"

"Your devilishly handsome, young son." I winked.

"Nope. Makes you a punk!"

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. I looked over at Sam. "You can join our conversation, you know."

"I'm not very good at speaking gh—" She coughed. "French."

"Ah, gotcha." I stretched back in the seat, cracking my back as I did.

"That's disgusting, Daniel." Father scowled.

"But feels so good." I replied.

Sam made a face. "You're gross."

"What? Have you ever popped your back before? It relieves a lot of stress."

The car pulled up to the school. "Thank god!" Father got out of the car.

"You're welcome." I smiled proudly.

"What?" He paused, then he face palmed. "Amature."

"What? I'm awesome."

He muttered something. I got out of the car, with Sam following me. "See you in a bit, Carl." I smiled. He waved and drove off. I laced my fingers through Sam's. "I'm going to miss holding your hand."

"Me too." She sighed.

"Walk me to the office?" I asked her. "I might get lost." I stuck out my bottom lip, trying to make a puppy dog look.

"Wouldn't miss it." She snickered.

"Actually, Daniel, Samantha, you need to clean out Daniel's locker. I'll head to the office to sign all the paperwork." Father says.

"Oh." My locker didn't even occur to me. "Okay, I'll meet you by the car later when I'm done."

"Ten minutes." He responds, walking away. As he walked, his cellphone rang, and he answered it. I could hear him arguing with his secretary again as he walked off.

I looked at Sam. "Ten minutes till I have to say goodbye." I sighed.

"Don't think about it right now. Where was your locker anyway?" She asked.

"Uhh. I think it was over this way." I scratched my head.

"You really don't remember?" She asked.

"Sam, I've been enrolled here for a long time, but I only came to school like five times!"

"Point taken." She shrugged.

I walked over to my locker. When it opened, I was sure it was mine. I grabbed my textbooks, throwing them in the bag she had handed me.

"Going somewhere, Masters?" A voice behind me said.

I turned around. Dash was walking up towards me. He was usuing crutches. "I'm leaving."

He stopped. "Leaving?"

"Yep." I continued to pack stuff into the bag.

"School not rich enough for you? Or is it because of the other thing?" He scoffed.

"Neither." I dropped the bag by my feet and turned around to face him. "I'm going back to France, Dash. My mother died."

The look on Dash's face was priceless. He actually looked guilty. "Oh man." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

I frowned. "Nobody did. We're very private." I looked at Sam. She jabbed my arm. I knew what she wanted me to do. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Look, man, I've got to apologize."

He held up a hand. "Don't. I deserved it."

"What?" I gaped. "Why would you say that?"

"I've been a jerk to everyone. Especially you, Fenton."

"I have a name." She scowled.

"Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately."

"Is that what I smell?"

I looked at Sam. "Sam, seriously, shut up for a second. He's trying to talk."

"This jerk has been bullying me for _years,_ Dan! He can't just say he's sorry and expect me to forgive him!" She crossed her arms. "I thought you of all people knew better."

I put my hands on her shoulders. "Babe, I get it. I do. But remember what we talked about?" She nodded slowly. "Remember that, okay?" I kissed her forehead.

"I'm glad you two found each other." Dash said suddenly.

I frowned. "Dash, even if you think you deserved to be crippled, you don't." I walked over to him. He backed away a little, but I held up a hand. I put my hand on his knee, and used my ghostly energy to heal his knee. It was a simple trick.

"What did you do?" He asked, his blue eyes wide.

"I healed you." I rose back to my full height. "I am sorry." I held out my hand.

He looked at me for a second. Then, he shook my hand. "I forgive you, Daniel."

I smiled. "There's something ym father once told me, that I'm going to pass on to you. You've finnaly realized that being a bully isn't the path for you."

"So what is?" He asked.

"You need to figure that out yourself. My father once asked me something. He said, do you want to be remembered as a hero or a villain? After I thought about that, I decided to be a hero. You can be one too, Dash."

"I don't have superpowers. How can I be a hero?"

"You don't need powers to be a hero. It starts within you. By not bullying, you don't make people fear you. Protect them. Be a better man than your old self."

He puffed out air. "What if I can't do it? I like being popular."

"Is it worth it? Those people you call friends would dump you at the slightest thing. You can make new friends."

"But making new friends is hard!" He complained.

"I know it is, trust me. I know you can do it Dash Baxter. Be the light I know you can be."

He sighed. "Thank you, man. I'll try." He put down the crutches. "Hey, it doesn't hurt!"

"Of course not. I healed it." I smiled.

He smiled and fist bumped me. "See you around, man."

"See you." I watched him walk away.

I felt Sam's hand on ym shoulder. "I'm proud of you for that. I didn't know you could heal someone."

"Works the same was as healing yourself. You just have to concentrate." I turned back to my locker. It was completely empty now. "I guess it's time for me to leave now."

"I guess so." She looked at my empty locker. "Hey, something your Father said to me. I forgot to tell you until now."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Since I'm not very good with this whole… problem of mine, uh, he told me to send him an SOS if I ever needed help. He wanted me to tell you so that you'd know."

"He couldn't tell me?" I asked.

"He thought it might be better if I said it. So it doesn't seem like he's doubting me."

"Oh." I thought about it for a second. "That makes sense, yes." I closed my locker.

Sam stood on her tip toes and kissed me. "Be careful, Daniel."

"I will, I promise. You be careful, okay?" I smiled and kissed her again.

She nodded. "I promise."

I grabbed my bag from the floor. "Goodbye, Sam Fenton."

"Goodbye, Dan Masters."

I walked down the hall, but I turned and looked at her one more time. She waved slowly at me. I waved back at her, walking through the double doors. I got in the back of the limo, putting the bag on the seat.

"One more stop, my boy. Then we will be going home." Father smiled.

I nodded. I looked back at Casper High. It disappeared in the distance.

I said goodbye to the High School. I knew I wouldn't be back anytime soon.


	24. War

The car pulled up to the office. It was a large, one story building. I got out of the car, and saw lots of camera flashes. I covered my eyes, and Father steered me by the shoulders through the crowd. I frowned. This was a press conference? I didn't like it one bit. There were a lot of reporters, and they shoved mics into my face but I stayed silent. I could hear a woman off to the side.

"I'm Tiffany Snow. Here he comes now, Vladimir Masters, billionaire owner of Vladco, DALV, and several other companies - and who does he have with him?" She put her hand to her ear. "I don't believe it, folks, That's his son, Daniel Masters. He has never before been seen in the public. I wonder what he's doing here?" She pushed her red hair off her shoulders and smiled as the camera shifted towards us.

"I'm nervous." I whispered to Father.

"That's okay, my boy. So am I." He smiled.

"I'm glad it's not only me." I let out a breath of air I'd been holding. I smiled nervously.

We walked up a set of stairs, to a makeshift podium. Father pointed to a chair beside the stage, but I couldn't actually hear his words over the crowd. I nodded, showing him I understood. I took a seat on the chair. Even though I was wearing jeans and a shirt, I still looked nice. I checked my watch. It also doubled as a Ghost World signature detector/communicator. I did a quick scan for any ecto signatures, but the only two in the area were mine and Father's. We didn't need any ghosts appearing here.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." Father spoke. "I called the conference today to tell everyone the grave news: I will once again take another leave of absence."

"We can see your son there with you." The same reporter stuck her mic out. "So why another absence?"

"Ah, Mrs. Snow, I was just about to tell you." He smiled politely, but I could hear the annoyance in his voice. "My wife, Stephanie, has passed on, so we need to be with family right now. We will be returning to France today to make arrangements. My leave starts immediately."

"Will you leave Damon Gray in charge once again?" Another reporter asked.

"Yes. My Vice President Damon Gray has done a marvelous job of running the companies in my absence. I have full confident in him." He smiled smugly.

"With your son's poor health, is it possible he passed on his disease to Stephanie, resulting in her death?" The woman reporter asked.

I startled, looking at Father. What was Father going to say?

He frowned. "No."

"Can you elaborate?"

"No. That is irrelevant to this discussion." He straightened his collar. "Any other questions?"

When the crowd kept asking questions related to me, I could see Father was getting ticked off. "No further questions." He finally spoke. He gestured to me, and I got up, following him back to the limo.

"That was terrible." I spoke.

"Yes, those reporters are ravagers." He agreed. "This is why I don't take you to conferences. They try to pick anyone apart."

I frowned. "Yeah. Kind of glad you don't."

"Let's just hope that whatever's waiting for us goes better." He sighed.

I nodded. I thought about what Clockwork said. He said he would see me tomorrow, but did that mean today, or tomorrow by a Ghost World's standard? What did this mean for my training?

"Father?" I asked.

"Yes, my boy?"

"Why don't you like Clockwork?"

He sighed. "It was just bad timing, Daniel. You have to understand, you had…died in my arms and he separated me from you."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, Father. I couldn't just let Sam die."

"We were misguided. What's done is done." He smiled lightly.

"What scares me is how easily Freakshow took us over. Skulker once said that our genes are one of the strongest in the Ghost World. How were we overtaken so easy?" I shook my head. "By the way, you never told me what happened leading up to your capture."

He laughed softly. "Skulker and I were in the lab. He had got a notification about that dog tearing up Amity's public park. He went out to investigate, I had no interest in chasing a beast. I let him go. Twenty minutes later, that young girl, uh, Danielle, attacked my lab with this other male ghost. They tried to grab me, but I attacked them and ended up killing the male ghost with her." He shook his head. "You know I tend to avoid violence. It's unnecessary. This time, it was me or them."

"So, if that other ghost died, why couldn't you escape?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, it's pretty much a blur. After the other ghost's death, I remember something getting stuck into me. The next second I was human, then when I woke up I was in the tent."

I fiddled with my fingers. "I found your cellphone mixed in with all the ectoplasm. I assumed the worst. When I couldn't find you, I got scared. I can't loose you too, Father."

"As long as I have breath in my body, I will be here to guide you and protect you." He walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, kissing my hair as he did so.

"Ghosts don't breathe." I pointed out.

"Dear god, Daniel, do you have to ruin ever moment?" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes." I snorted laughter. "One thing still confuses me, though. Clockwork said that Grandfather would explain it, but why do I need that purple cloak? What's the point of that?"

"I don't really know much about Gods or such like that. The ghost to ask would be my father." He hesitated.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why the hesitation?"

"Well, Daniel, I'm honestly not sure how they're going to react. Things can go very good, or very bad."

"How would being greeted with a God go bad?" I smiled smugly.

"You are the densest person I've ever met." He sighed. "You're 15. They might think that you're not fit. It could spark an anarchy."

"Oh." I stayed silent for a moment. "I guess I better prove I'm not small minded, huh?"

"You have a big responsibility now, Daniel. Do you remember before we left Gleset, and we were talking about how you wanted to be an astronaut when you grew up?"

"Yes…" I said slowly. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"You might want to think of a career in the Ghost World now, my boy. You can always become a guard, or perhaps the Warden." He winked.

"That's not my thing, though." I frowned. "I don't like violence. I don't like politics, so don't even mention trying to become King. Ember already tried that."

"Do you really think that's all there is? Violence or politics?" He asked.

"Mm, pretty sure, yes." I crossed my arms.

"You should know better. Skulker and I are scientists. There is a large field of scientists in the Ghost World. Technus, to name one example. We're always looking for ways to other dimensions."

"Wait, so there's more than two?" I asked. "How does that work?"

"Well, I'm not going to bore you with the science behind it. We think that there might be more out there. We're certantly closer to finding it than humans." He scoffed.

"Humans think that race divides them, but it's a distraction for the violence."

"Correct. The humans will not know what hit them." He laughed.

"What do you thinks out there?" I asked.

"We don't know." He clapped his hands. "That's the beauty of it. There is unlimited possibilities out there."

"It does sound really interesting to me. I might look into that."

"I'd love to work alongside you, Father." I smiled.

"Me too, my boy." He smiled. "We're here."

We pulled up to the house. I got out of the car and stretched. "Bye, Carl!"

"Bye, Daniel! Good luck!" Carl waved.

"Thank you."

We walked into the house. As soon as I walked through the door, I changed into my ghost form. I floated down to the lab. Father followed me, but walking in his human form.

"I don't see why you don't fly." I shook my head.

"I don't see why you do." He responded.

"Probably because I'm lazy." I shrugged.

"I won't deny it." He replied smugly.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I landed in front of the portal. Father pressed buttons, turning it on, changing to his ghost form as he walked closer. We both walked through the portal. The first thing I noticed was that instead of soft green hues, the sky was a dark green. It looked poisoned. I looked at Father alarmingly. His expression matched mine.

I heard a roar. I turned around with supernatural speeds. A gigantic dragon stood in front of us. This one was the different then the one that attacked the school. This dragon was black, and easily 75 feet long. It reared it's head back, but Father stepped in front of me.

"Aragon, stop!" He held up his hands.

"Get out of my way, Vladimir!" Aragon's voice was loud, and very rough. "Your race cannot stop this any longer."

"Our race?" I asked. "We're the same race!"

"You are misguided, fool." Aragon hissed. "The Dragon race is much better than your puny selves. Get out of my way, and I will lay waste to your Kingdom!"

"I can't let you do that, Aragon. I will stop you!" Father blasted Aragon in the chest, but it did little more than make him annoyed.

"I can see you're a little tense, Aragon, but couldn't we just calm down, maybe have a cup of coffee…?" I stated.

"Your son speaks a brave game, Vladimir." Aragon smirked.

"Why don't you shrink back down to our size and we'll talk, hmm?" Father agreed.

"You will not sway me." Aragon's mouth started to smoke. "I will be your new King."

"Okay, I'm done with this." I stepped out from behind Father.

"Daniel? What are you doing?" Father hissed, grabbing my arm. "You'll get yourself hurt!"

"Trust me." I smiled. "I can do this."

"Fine. I'm trusting you on this." He didn't look happy about it, but he let go of my arm.

I flew up to Aragon. I felt an unknown emotion stirring in my stomach, and before I knew it, I knew I was glowing a radiant gold. I extended my arms and a pair of wings formed at my shoulders.

"Impossible!" Aragon roared, shrinking down to his normal size. "Your kind are myths."

I bit back a retort. "You will go home and forget anything about a rebellion." I crossed my arms, hoping I looked menacing.

He blasted me with fire, and since I wasn't expecting it, I didn't have time to put up a shield. When the fire cleared, I realized I wasn't hurt. I expected to see Father blocking it, but instead it was Clockwork. I stared at Clockwork. "Thank you." I spoke, my voice full of relief.

"You need to be more careful." Clockwork scowled.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting him to blast me." I frowned. I looked around. Aragon and Father were frozen in time. I could see the fire coming straight at me, but it, too, was frozen. "What's going on?"

"I have frozen time. I couldn't let you perish." He snickered. "If you knew better, I'd be disappointed, but this is new to you."

I nodded. "What's up with the wings?" I pulled at the wings on my shoulders. They felt big and bulky.

"You will get used to them." He responded, as if reading my mind. "They're a side effect of using your powers."

"How do I even defeat Aragon? He's not intimidated by me." I sighed.

"You don't."

"What?" I looked at him with a baffled look on my face. "How would I not defeat him and win?"

"You need to use your wit, Daniel. What did you notice?" He smiled lightly.

I looked back to the scene in front of me. Suddenly, a glint of red caught my eye. "He's wearing an amulet."

"Yes. And?"

"If I pull that off, he goes back to normal?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "What else?"

"Uhh, he really wants to kill me?"

He face palmed. "No."

It suddenly occurred to me. I had to use my wits to defeat him… just like the dragon that had attacked Casper High. My Ghostly Wail! I had to use that!

"There you go, Daniel. I can tell it's clicked in your head." He smiled smugly. "I chose you for a reason."

"Yeah, sacrifice or some dopey shit, right?" I snickered.

He sighed. "Why do I bother…?"

I shrugged. "Not sure, man."

He extended his hand, his staff appearing in his hand. "Time in." He disappeared in the swirl of a clock.

I noticed that Father was in the way of the fire blast. At that same instant, I put up a strong shield over the both of us. The fire bounced harmlessly off of the shield. I gritted my teeth.

"Daniel!" Father gasped. "How did you know…?"

I didn't respond. I sucked in a huge amount of air, and screamed. My scream echoed loudly, sending a strong blast wave in front of me. Aragon stopped spitting fire, and immediately shrank down to human size. I ripped the amulet from his neck before he had even opened his eyes.

"Ah, very clever, Daniel." Aragon spoke. He had pale blue skin, long gray hair, and bright red eyes. The corners of his mouth extended into a cruel smile. "You've taught him well, I see."

I held up a finger. "You're not alone."

"You seriously think I'd be in this war alone?" He cackled. "You don't know me very well then."

"War?" Father and I asked at the same time.

"You two spend too much time in the Human World. We've been at war for ages."

Father and I exchanged a glance. "Aragon, we have been friends for decades! Why would you suddenly—"

"It was not a sudden decision." He snarled. "It started with _him."_ He pointed at me.

"Me? What did I do?" I asked.

"You exist." He snarled.

"You leave my son out of this! He doesn't know!" Father flew around me to face Aragon. "He is completely innocent in this matter."

"Doesn't matter!" He waved a hand, intending to push Father away, but I had grabbed Father before he could.

"We need to get out of here." Father breathed in my ear.

I nodded. "I've got an idea."

"Daniel, this isn't the time for your childish games—"

"Trust me, Father." I smiled weakly.

"Don't kill us both. I've never seen Aragon this peeved before."

"You want your amulet back?" I suddenly yelled.

"I will just kill you for it, boy!" His hands lit up with blue energy.

I quickly made a copy of the amulet, sticking the real one in my pocket before anyone could blink. I smiled. God powers had their benefits. I used my ghostly energy and made a bow and arrow. I put the fake amulet around the end and shot it into the darkness.

"This isn't over, boy!" Aragon ran after it.

I took the opportunity and teleported Father and I to the castle. When we landed on the grass, the godly feeling disappeared. I suddenly felt exhausted. I knew I wouldn't get a chance to relax, though.

"I can't believe you gave him the amulet!" Father hissed. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"That I'm not as big of an idiot as you think I am." I smiled and dug the real amulet out of my pocket.

"How did you do that?" He frowned. "The other amulet looked like the real thing."

"Spectral manipulation." I replied.

He smacked his forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're a dummy!" I laughed.

"Daniel, I'm not in a celebratory mood." He scowled.

"Speaking of party poopers, what was he talking about, Father? What are you keeping from me _again?"_ I crossed my arms.

"Your mother is his sister." He sighed.

"What?" I gaped. "Why would that make him so angry?"

"In their Kingdom, women are forbidden to marry outside the Dragon race." He explained. "So, naturally, when she left, it led to tension."

"But why would the war start now? What changed?"

"I'm not sure, my boy. But I have an ugly feeling we're going to find out." He scowled, walking forward to the castle.

We walked together, not a word spoken between us. It was an uneasy silence. I wondered how my genetics would work now, but I didn't want to think of it. Math still made my head hurt. Perhaps the next time I saw Clockwork I'd ask him. The halls of the castle was unusually empty. I frowned. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but Father slapped his hand over my mouth and shook his head. I nodded.

I felt something grow heavy in my pocket. The heavier it grew, the hotter it got. I pulled it out of my pocket, and the second it was out, it extended into a full staff. I startled. It looked almost exactly like Clockwork's. On a whim, I clicked it on the ground. A puff of energy escaped the staff, and my outfit changed. I was wearing the purple cloak Clockwork had gifted me, along with a long purple shirt and pants. I looked at Father with alarm.

He was looking at me with the same look that echoed my own. He bit his lip. I lit my hand with pink energy and looked around. I couldn't sense anyone else in the castle. So why would I need a costume change?

We wandered down through the halls. Father gestured to the other side, and I nodded. I went up and down the hall, looking through every door. I went to the end of the hall, and entered the last room. There was a figure with his back to me, sitting in front of a warm fire.

"Ah, the Apprentice of Time. I have been waiting for you."


	25. Demons

"Apprentice of Time?" I asked. "That's the first time I heard that title." I said quietly.

The ghost laughed. "Yes, you are newly appointed, I see. Haven't taken one lesson." He rose, and over the dark of the room, I couldn't see his appearance. The only light in the room was the fireplace.

"Of course." I replied. "There's been much going on."

"Yes. I agree, Daniel." The ghost walked towards me, and I could see him clearly now. He was at least 7 feet tall, with a black body with stars reflecting off of it. His face was pale white, with purple horns sprouting from the sides with red eyes. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," I spoke truthfully. "I don't spend much time in this World."

"Yet here you are at the faintest call." The ghost smiled. "I have never doubted you, child, but now I have faith in you that cannot be swayed."

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you are." I spoke. "But I mean no disrespect." This ghost was hard to read, but I had a nasty feeling I didn't want to get on his bad side.

"Of course not. I stay very well hidden. My name is Nocturn, leader of the Far Realm."

"The Far Realm?" I asked. "Is that the third Kingdom I've never heard of?"

"No." His smile faded. "Our realm has been diminished by time, but we are the fourth Kingdom. Our existence was highly top secret, so it is of no disrespect that you don't know me."

"So what do I have to do with it?" I asked.

"You freed me." He said simply. "On a very rare occasion of leaving my Kingdom, I ran into a magical artifact, stolen from me thousands of years ago. The Crystal Scepter is a very powerful artifact forged from the clay of creation."

I nodded. "Has the ability to control ghosts, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "I thought you had been influenced. I still feel it's pull on you, even now."

"But Sam destroyed it." I laughed nervously. "It's not like we made it worse, right?"

He shook his head sadly. "You have a lot to learn, Daniel. A powerful artifact such as that cannot be destroyed, only contained."

"So, when she smashed it, what happened?" I asked.

"All the absorbed ghosts in it were set free, including me. But all that energy absorbed into something—or someone. Have you noticed your Father acting strange?" He asked. "This is very important."

I opened and closed my mouth. "He's a bit more aggressive than usual. Cujo didn't like him."

He gave me a weird look. "Cujo?"

"Ghost dog. My Uncle Skulker found him."

"Ah, of course. A ghost dog would be able to smell the abnormalities on him." He stroked his chin.

"So, what do we do? How do we get that out of him?" I asked. "I can't loose him."

"Calm down, child. You're not loosing him. You just need to find something to contain it with and pull it out of him."

I sighed in relief. "Good. My father's all I have left."

"You need to let go of your feelings. They will get you killed."

"They already did." I frowned. "I was just lucky enough to get a second chance."

"No, Daniel. A true death. No comebacks. No second chances." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt chills go down my spine. "You need to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" I groaned. "Something is coming, that's for sure. I don't think this ghost war is it. I think it's a distraction."

"Very good. Who would want to distract you?"

"Freakshow." I replied. "What's he planning?"

"You must figure it out, Daniel. Everything rests on you."

"Why me?"

"Because you are now a God. You are held to another standard."

I scowled. "Yay me."

"In return for freeing me, I'm offering my services."

I stopped. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. My army and I are at your command." He bowed.

"Oh god, no, don't do that." I made a face.

He snickered. "Come, we must leave."

"Leave?" I asked. "To go where?"

"Haven't you noticed? The castle has been evacuated. Now that there are ghost signatures appearing, they will come soon." He floated from the room.

"We can't leave. We need to find my Father." I responded.

"We will on the way." He was almost all the way down the hall.

"What are we running from?" I asked.

"We call them demons. They don't have a true name." He spoke softly. "I will tell you when we get to the rendezvous point."

"Sounds like there was a plan." I frowned. "What went wrong?"

"Aragon." He put simply.

I bit my lip. I was so confused as to what was happening. I figured it was best to not question it again. I looked around for Father. I couldn't see him, so I used my senses. I closed my eyes for a brief second, and when I opened them, I could see sound waves. I followed the vibrations that Father was emitting.

"There you are, Daniel." He stopped abruptly. "Who's this?"

"This is Nocturn." I explained. "He's with us."

"Of course he is." He sighed. "Let's get out of here."

Nocturn led the way out of the castle, and I looked around as we walked. The castle had ectoplasm scattered on the walls, and things there torn and thrown everywhere. It seems like it had been abandoned for 100 years, but it couldn't have been more than a day. What happened here? I looked over at Father, who's expression matched mine.

We left the castle, where a carriage waited for us. I climbed in, taking the opptertunity to notice how dark the sky was now. It was dark green when we had entered the castle, and now it was almost black. Every one of my senses were on high alert.

"They've almost broken through." Nocturn spoke.

"Who has?" Father asked.

"Demons. I will explain everything when we get there. We must hurry."

I looked out the window again. The sky was pulsating, getting darker and darker. It was almost hard to see now. I bit my lip. I had never felt scared in the Ghost World before, but I was seriously creped out now.

We pulled up to a frozen hole. I frowned. "What is that?"

"That is the Far Frozen's kingdom. Come, they are waiting." Nocturn got out of the carriage, leading the way into the tunnel.

I got out, and immediately I noticed it was freezing. "Brr! I should've brought a jacket!"

Father was rubbing his arms. "Don't worry, your massive ego will keep us warm."

"Har har." I rolled my eyes.

Nocturn led the way through the tunnel, and eventually we got through to the other end, where a large group oh ghosts were gathered.

The tallest figure had his back to us, but at our footsteps he turned around. He was about eight feet tall, with a blue aura and white fur. He approached us, his footsteps echoing loudly. As he got closer, I noticed he had his left arm completely encased with ice, and that he had ice horns.

"Greetings travelers. My name is Frostbite, how can I help you?" The ghost bowed.

"Greetings, Frostbite." Nocturn bowed. "We seek refuge from the demons."

"Ah. The demons who haunt the dark." Frostbite frowned. "Yes. They don't like the cold; we have taken in many from every corner of the Ghost World."

"Yes, that is why we have come. I bring Princes Vladimir and Daniel." Nocturn moved to the left, exposing the pair of us.

"Oh!" Frostbite looked at me and bowed deeply. "Hello, young Celestial. I am humbled by your presence."

I made a face. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what, young lord?"

"Don't bow. It makes me feel bad."

Father snickered. "I guess you'll have to get used to the treatment, huh?"

"Shut up!" I blushed.

"Many apologies, young lord. I welcome you all to the Far Frozen." He extended his hands. "We have hot chocolate inside the pavilion."

"Thank god." I stated. "I'm freezing." I rubbed my hands together, walking off towards the pavilion, my cloak swishing out behind me. The long sleeve clothes made me warmer, but with the harsh chill it was still cold. I walked up to the counter, pouring myself a glass.

"Excuse me?" I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around. A woman stood there, with light green skin, shaggy green hair and red eyes. "You're Prince Daniel, right?" She asked.

"Yes." I responded, taking a sip of my hot chocolate.

"That's so cool!" He squealed. "Do you mind saying hi to my boyfriend?"

"Uhh… Sure, I guess. I'm not busy." I shrugged.

"Okay! By the way, I'm Joanne, but you can call me Kitty!" She extended her hand, and I shook it.

"You can call me Dan." I smiled.

"Okay, Dan." She walked through the crowd, leading me to a group of younger ghosts. She introduced me to each one. "This is my boyfriend Johnny," She pointed to him, who waved. "Spectra, Vortex, Wulf, and Amorpho."

I waved to everyone. "Hello, everyone. I'm Prince Daniel, but you can call me Dan."

"What brings you here, Dan?" Johnny asked.

"Same as you. Fleeing the demons." I shrugged. "Nocturn said he would tell me everything, but I wanted hot chocolate. What's the deal anyway?"

Everyone looked at each other. "You haven't heard anything?" Amorpho asked.

"No. I've been in the Human World all this time. We literally just got here." I frowned. "Ran into Aragon, who tried to kill us." I took another sip of my drink.

"Woah. Yeah, the Ghost War is still going on, too. Completely forgot about that." Vortex spoke.

"Can you explain it to me? From the beginning?" I asked.

"A few hours ago, Aragon declared war on us unexpectedly. King Pariah and his army went to fight. Around the same time, we noticed that the sky kept getting dark. We weren't concerned at first, but after a while we noticed disturbances. Sounding like something breaking through. Then, Knight of the Royal guard started pulling everyone from our homes and evacuating everyone here. From whispers through the grapevines, something from the Unworld is being set free." Vortex said.

"What's the Unworld?" I asked.

Everyone exchanged glances. "Nobody knows." Kitty spoke.

I frowned. "But—"

"Daniel!" Father appeared behind me. "I have been looking for you everywhere—oh, you have guests." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What?" I turned around. "I can't make friends?"

"Aww, he considers us friends!" I heard Spectra speak behind me. Someone shushed her.

"Daniel, we are in the middle of a war zone, and the _least_ you could do is take this seriously!" He hissed.

"I am taking it seriously, Father!" I stomped my foot. "I was learning about what was going on while we were in the Human World!"

"Nocturn would have explained everything to you if you didn't run off!"

I gritted my teeth. "Do you seriously need to control every bit of my life?" I asked. "I can't do anything without you being up my ass!"

"Maybe if I had paid more attention Madeline wouldn't have died!" He yelled, gathering everyone's attention. "Or your mother, or _you._ Do you remember that, Daniel? How you died in my arms?"

I bit my lip. I always felt bad for arguing with him. "Yes, I remember." I said quietly.

"So, _please,_ don't tell me to stop watching you so closely, because I won't. The second I stop someone dies." He sighed. "I didn't come here to argue with you."

"So why did you come over here then?" I asked.

He opened and closed his mouth. He looked past me to the group of teens who were eavesdropping. "Can any of you fight?" He asked.

"Uh, maybe?" Johnny spoke.

"Why, what's going on?" Kitty asked.

"The demons have broken through. We have no army to protect us, so we need everyone to fight." Father said quickly.

My mouth gaped. "How do you know?"

At that same moment, I heard a huge roar.

"Never mind." I shook my head.

"It's going to be dangerous, so only go if you are confident you can hold your own." He said.

The entire group got to their feet. "Let's do this!" Wulf spoke.

Father looked at me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. "I am."

"Good. Please don't die again."

I laughed lightly. "No promises."

He scowled. "Daniel…"

"What? I'm kidding." I grinned.

"You'd better be." He shot straight into the air, leading the way out of the tunnel. Along with the group of teens, I noticed a few other ghosts in the mix. We left the tunnel, and it was so dark I could barely see. I lit my eyes up brighter, trying to see anything. I heard the roaring get louder, and suddenly a figure broke through. It was about 300 feet long, and pure black. It whipped its tail around to strike us, and at the same time I noticed it was glowing green.

"Scatter!" I yelled loudly.

Everyone moved to the side, and the tail just flailed around for a few seconds, not hitting anything. I lit my hands up with red energy, and poured heat into my hands. When it started to hurt, I blasted the monster. It did no effect. I looked around, but it was so dark I couldn't see anything but the blasts of energy being scattered around. I couldn't even see Father. If I couldn't even hurt this beast; how was I going to save everyone?


	26. Visions

I was blasted back. I spun a few times in mid air, and then regained myself. I looked around. The blast hurt, but I knew it wasn't fatal. Someone started laughing, and I heard it echo through the Ghost World.

"Free… I am free!" The voice echoed.

"Oh no." Father appeared beside me. "I'd know that voice anywhere."

"Who is it, Father?" I asked, hoping I was looking at him. It was still too dark to tell.

"His name is Undergrowth. He's the darkest villain to ever roam the Ghost World." Father replied. "We can't fight him. Not now."

"So what do we do?"

"We run!" I heard Father take a huge gulp of air. "RETREAT! EVERYONE RETREAT!" He yelled.

I covered my ears. I felt terror rise through my gut. For the amount of fear to be in Father's voice, this must be huge. I closed my eyes to try and use echolocation, but it was almost impossible to do with everyone panicking.

I was suddenly thrown forward. I felt something pierce my leg, and I yelled. It was so dark now, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Not even with my ghostly aura.

"What do we have here?" Undergrowth lifted me by my leg. "A celestial?"

"Put me down you miserable excuse for a ghost!" I yelled, trying to phase my foot from his hold. Undergrowth just laughed. Whatever freaky powers he had, I couldn't phase myself out. I leaned forward and blasted him with red energy, but it just bounced off his chest and reflected back into the empty space.

"You shall be my new pet." He spoke. "When I take over the multiverse, you shall be my slave."

"I don't bow to anyone!" I hissed. I took a huge gulp of air, and I let out a Ghostly Wail. He didn't release his hold on my leg, but his laughing got louder.

"Ah, yes. I see why Clockwork has chosen you, my little pet…"

"Goddammit!" I was starting to panic now. I couldn't blast him, phase out, or deter him with my wail. I tried to teleport, but my mind was too panicked to properly teleport out. I could feel myself being scattered into atoms, which was quite painful. I gasped for breath, even though ghosts don't breathe.

I felt something stir in the pit of my stomach. I gasped, and my vision returned. I could suddenly see clear as day. The space around me lit up with a very bright gold hue, and Undergrowth released me with a hiss. I righted myself and started blasting him, but this time my ecto blasts came out gold instead of red. He started to scream and return into the black hole, and I could feel its pull the closer I got to it.

"Impossible!" Undergrowth hissed. "I shall have my victory!" He got closer to me, and grabbed me around the waist. He looked like an overgrown plant, with bird like features. His red eyes glimmered.

"Maybe in your next life!" I responded. I continued to blast him back with one hand, while blasting the rope around my waist.

Just when it seemed I got the upper hand, things went wrong very fast.

"Fine! You shall use your powers; I shall use mine." The rope around my waist got heavy. I started to sink, and then, it glowed black. I gasped. I felt pain radiate down to my very atoms, and I screamed loudly. My vision went in and out.

"Clockwork!" I gasped, knowing he was watching. "Help me! Please!"

Nobody answered my plea.

I felt my energy dwindle. I felt like I was being used like a battery. "Help me…"

"Nobody is coming to help you, child." Undergrowth replied. "Now, you will be my slave."

I felt something foreign invade my mind. I struggled against it. "No."

The feeling got stronger. "You will submit to me!"

The feeling reminded me of Freakshow's staff. I wondered somewhere in the back of my mind if Undergrowth had the same abilities. I closed my eyes. I was too weak to even move…

Suddenly, I was freefalling through the air, and I landed in someone's arms. I slightly opened my eyes, and saw I was laying in Clockwork's arms. "Hang in there, Daniel." He spoke, but his voice sounded distant.

I was more tired than anything. I closed my eyes.

When I woke up, I noticed I was laying in a bed. I was very comfy, and I didn't even want to get up. The blanket wrapped around me made me feel cozy, but I knew I needed to get up out of bed. I sighed, throwing the covers off. I looked at my feet and noticed I was in my human form. I gasped. How could I even breathe if there's no air in the Ghost World?

I looked around. I was in a circular room, which had a set of stairs that led down. I walked down the stairs, into another room. There were bookshelves to my right, and to the left were two larges, green screens. I whistled. They looked very nice.

"Good afternoon, Daniel." Clockwork emerged from another room. "Sleep well?"

I stretched lazily. "Yes. Very well, thank you." I stopped suddenly. "Wait. Undergrowth. The beast. My father! How long was I out?" I spoke quickly.

"No worries, Daniel. I have dealt with Undergrowth for now. You are fully rested, yes?"

"Yes…" I spoke slowly. "But what about my father? I can't abandon him."

"Your father understands. I had to give you godly medicine. Undergrowth sapped your very being, Daniel. You needed to rest." He had a steaming cup in his hands. "Drink up."

I took the cup from him and downed it. It made my entire body tingle, and felt rejuvenated. I smiled. "Thank you, Clockwork."

"Don't mention it." He smiled. "You do need a haircut though, Daniel. You're beginning to look like your father's twin."

I frowned. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No. Your hair will get in the way, though."

"Oh." I thought for a second. "Give me a pair of scissors, I'll do it myself."

"No offense, Daniel. I don't trust you to style hair. I shall cut it myself. Take a seat." He patted the couch.

I shrugged. How bad could it get? I felt him cutting my hair, and the hair lined my legs before long. I looked at the hair and noticed how long it was. "Hey Clockwork…"

"Hmm?"

"Does my human hair grow at a normal rate in the Ghost World?" I asked.

"Yes. So you've spent about three days in the Ghost World now, so three months. And you didn't cut your hair for a while before then. So I'd say this is about eight month's worth." He replied.

"Wait. So I've been here three days?" I asked. "Undergrowth hasn't tried to attack again?"

"No. He was waiting for you to reappear before he tried anything, I think. He knows you're powerful, but that he can defeat you."

"You never trained me how to use my powers." I complained. "I don't know how to use them."

"Yes, Daniel. We will get to it. But first, we have another matter at hand." He frowned. "Samantha has hit her puberty, and is in need of us."

I bit my lip. "How long ago did she start it?"

"She will hit it in ten minutes and 38 seconds." He replied.

"Oh, that's a nice warning time." I responded. I got up, shaking the hair off. I turned intangible, and the rest of the hair fell off. I went over to the window, and looked at my reflection. The sides of my hair were very short, almost buzzed style short. My usually spiky hair was a lot shorter where my bangs were. It almost looked like a military haircut. I actually really liked it. I stretched. "So, you coming with me?"

"No. I will give you a parting gift, though, because you'll need it." He handed me my staff. The staff was an elegant purple with a simple clock perched on top of the staff.

"I don't know how to use it." I frowned, taking the staff from him.

"The button on top of the clock stops time. Press it again to un freeze it." He explained. "To rewind time, spin the button, to fast forward, spin it the other direction."

"What?" My mouth gaped. "This staff can control time?"

"Of course, Daniel. As a god, you can control the flow of time, not only with the staff, but with your powers. I just don't have time to show you how to do it with your powers just yet. When you find Samantha, bring her here. She will be safe here while you both recover."

I nodded. "Alright." I smiled. "Thank you Clockwork, but you don't have a portal, do you?"

"I have no need for one." He replied simply. "Just visualize your destination and wave your arm. The same way as teleportation, except with your enhanced powers you can make portals also."

"Cool!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, and Daniel?"

"Hmm?"

"Change into your ghost form."

"But why?" I asked. "I'm going into the Human World, so I'll need to be human, right?"

"Not this time. You need to be ghost to make portals. Your human side simply does not have enough energy to do it."

"Oh." I didn't want to think about my human part's limitations. "Makes sense, I guess." I changed back into my ghost form, running my hand through my hair. It was buzzed short with the same haircut as my human's. I switched the staff to my other hand. I visualized Casper High in my mind and waved my hand. A portal opened to Clockwork's right, showing the front face of the school.

"Hurry back, Daniel." He frowned.

"I will. Promise."

"Eight minutes 24 seconds."

"Blah blah blah." I shrugged, stepping through the portal, closing it behind me.

The first thing I noticed was that it was warm. The breeze swirled around me and I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. When I opened them, I could see the vibrations. I sensed Sam. She was walking along a hallway in the school. I sent my thoughts out to her.

 _Sam._

I felt her stop. I had my eyes closed again.

 _Daniel?_ Her mind spoke. _Is that you?_

 _Yes. You need to come outside right now._

 _Why? Are you in danger?_

 _No. You are._

I felt Sam's unease. _Daniel, it's the middle of the school day. I can't._

 _You will die if you don't come with me right now._ I opened my eyes, a small frown on my face. _Just trust me, Sam._

 _Okay. You've got my attention._

I leaned against the trunk of a tree, twirling around the staff in my fingers. I wondered why Clockwork thought I needed it. I shrugged. I felt someone staring at me. I turned around. Dash Baxter stood a few feet away from me, an odd look on his face. I frowned.

Dash walked over to me. "You look really familiar."

I smiled, exposing my fangs. Dash shrank back. "Long time no see, Dash Baxter." I spoke, my ghostly tone overshadowing my real voice.

"Daniel?" His eyes narrowed. "Oh my god. I see it now."

"What do you want, Dash? I'm busy." I continued to swirl the staff in my fingers.

"Where have you been, man? Weird things are going on." He made an odd expression.

I raised an eyebrow. "Ghost got your tongue?"

He shook his head. "I've been doing some research on you, Masters."

"Congratulations. Maybe you learned something."

"There's a lot of mistakes." He continued as if I didn't speak. "You've never been to France before, have you?"

I sighed. "You're not going to drop it, are you?"

"No. I've been trying to find you for weeks. It's like you dropped off the Earth." He gasped. "I bet you haven't been on Earth!"

"What are you trying to accomplish, Dash?" I hissed. "If it's getting on my last nerve, you've already got that down pact."

"I'm right, right?" He squealed. "Yes! I'm finally right about something!"

I opened my mouth to respond when Sam walked around the tree. "Hey, Daniel I came as fast as I could—Dash, what are you doing here?"

"I've figured it all out. You're a ghost, Masters." Dash frowned. "Why wouldn't you tell anyone?"

"It's my secret, Dash." I hissed. "Why do you think I would keep it secret, huh? Could you imagine what this would do to me if it got out?"

"Which I understand, but—"

"No buts. This is your secret now too, Dash, and you must keep it _secret._ " I responded.

"I knew there was something odd about you when you broke my knee!" He got in my face. "I'm not afraid of you, Dan. It's the opposite, actually."

"What?" I gaped. He held his hand out. I shook it slowly. "What are you up to, Baxter?"

"Nothing. I want in."

I looked at Sam. _What do you think?_ I asked her.

 _I think this is a terrible idea._

 _He knows everything, though._

 _Not everything. He doesn't know about me. Or Jazz. Or Tucker._

 _I get the point. What should we do?_

 _Tell him to fuck off. He's caused me enough grief in my life. Your call, though._

I looked at Dash. "We'll talk about it later. We have to go." I looked down at the watch on my arm. Two minutes, 38 seconds. Since when did I have this watch anyway?

"Just think about my offer, man." He smacked my shoulder and walked off.

Sam smiled. "It's been three months, Daniel. Where have you been?" She asked just until we were out of earshot of Dash. "What's going on?" She asked.

"We need to go back to the Ghost World. You're about to start puberty." I responded. "Dash really slowed us down."

"How do you know?" She asked.

"Clockwork." I responded.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes.

We walked down the sidewalk a bit. When I was confident that we were out of vision of anyone, I visualized Clockwork's tower in my mind and waved my hand. I led her through the portal.

She gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Clockwork showed me how just before I got here. I'm not sure you'll be able to do it." I frowned. "Sorry, Sam."

She frowned. "Okay." She looked around. "Where are we?"

"My abode." Clockwork spoke from the other end of the room. "Good job, Daniel. 58 seconds."

"Clockwork. Stop counting already." I rolled my eyes. "Change into your ghost form, Sam. Otherwise you'll poison yourself." I set down the staff.

Sam obliged, taking a seat on the chair. "What's going to happen to me?"

"Remember when I went through mine?" I asked. She nodded. "First, the fangs poke through. Then, the poison comes in. You might have to sleep while your body adjusts. Open your mouth."

She opened her mouth, and I walked over to her. Tiny fangs were poking through her gums. I touched them lightly, and black liquid came out of them.

"That tastes sooo gross." She complained.

"Yeah, like metal, I know." I laughed, taking my fingers out of her mouth. "You already have an advantage over me, since you're in the Ghost World and in your ghost form before it even started. You'll probably heal a lot faster then I did, so you can help with the War."

"War?" She startled. "What war?"

I looked at Clockwork. He nodded. "There's actually two wars going on right now. The Dragon/Ghost War, and the Demon War." I bit my lip. "I've never seen anything like these beasts."

"Beasts?"

"Yeah. They nearly killed me."

"You were nowhere near death, Daniel. You just needed to sleep." Clockwork interrupted.

"So, there I was." I continued, as if Clockwork hadn't spoke. "Battling with Undergrowth, and this dude was like an anti god."

"Hellborn." He spoke.

"Dude! You're stealing my thunder." I rolled my eyes.

He snickered. "Let me give back your thunder then."

"It's already been stolen." I grumbled.

"Should you really be talking to him like that?" Sam asked.

I shrugged. "Old man probably deserves it."

Clockwork laughed. "Old man?"

"The oldest." I agreed.

"Oh, Daniel, you definitely are something." He continued to laugh.

I laughed. I looked over at Sam, who had a faraway expression on her face. I waved my hand in front of her face, and got no response from her. I sat on the other side of her, and let her lean into me. She got comfortable and fell asleep in my arms. I smiled. She was cute when she slept.

"Daniel." Clockwork said.

"Yes?"

"We have stuff to do." He frowned.

"I know." I looked back at the sleeping Sam. "We can't just leave her here, though. We need to watch over her."

"Make a copy to watch her." He responded.

"Good idea." I replied. I made a copy of myself, and stood up. My copy took my seat in protecting Sam. He gave me a thumbs up. I smiled. "Alright, let's go."

He led me into a back room. I looked around. It was just a plain white room. I frowned. "So I meant to ask, what's the difference between ghost powers and god powers?"

"Not much. It's the same basic abilities: rays, shield, so on. I'm not here to show you basic abilities. I'm here to show you your godly abilities. Stand in the middle of the room."

I moved to the direct middle of the room. "Now what?"

"Close your eyes."

"If this is another one of your pranks, I swear—"

"Close your eyes." He repeated.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Now what?"

"I want you to feel the flow of time."

"What?" My eyes snapped open. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Close your eyes, Daniel." He spoke, his voice getting a tinge of annoyance. "Clear your mind. Feel your surroundings."

I grunted and closed my eyes again. I felt like an idiot doing this. I sighed, clearing my mind. I sensed my surroundings. I felt the vibrations in the air, but I also felt something underneath the vibrations. I frowned. It was the same feeling that I get whenever I used my godly abilities…

"That's it, Daniel." He spoke quietly. "Grasp onto that feeling."

I separated the vibrations from the unknown force. I felt it oblige to my will, and when I opened my eyes, I gasped. I could see the flow of time. It was like I was watching a movie, which I could rewind or fast forward at will. I blinked, loosing the feeling. I saw Clockwork smiling at me.

"Ah, yes. You saw it?"

I nodded. "It was crazy!" I grasped the feeling again, and this time I saw events unfold in front of my eyes:

Suddenly, I was twenty. I could see an older version of myself. I wore the same purple outfit I wore now, and I had a flaming green crown on my head. If I had to guess, I was the Ghost King. I rewinded, seeing another turn of events. I was tied up by all four limbs, bleeding golden ectoplasm. I could see the bodies of everyone I loved. I put my hand on my mouth. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Now you understand what is at risk." He sighed.

I nodded. "It was flashing by too quickly to see exactly what happened. "

"That's the funny thing about time, Daniel. Time will not show any of your involvement. Without your involvement, you would have seen everything that led to that grim fate." He walked around me. "I picked you for a specific reason, Daniel. I could have let you die at the hands of your father. Instead, let me show you what that fate would have led to." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I could see another vision:

I saw myself die at the hospital. I watched my father cry over my body, and Sam cry. The vision had no audio, but I watched her yelling at Father, and him yell at her. It skipped forward to the day of my funeral, and the casket was slowly lowered into the ground. It skipped again to a photo of my grave, with Father kneeling in front of it. As I watched from my outsider view, Father seemed to be having an internal battle. Suddenly, a bright flash of light took over the vision. When it cleared, Father's bloody, mauled human corpse laid on the ground. In his place, a ghost stood. It looked like his ghost form, except his red eyes were no longer kind. They burned with an untamed fire, and his once long, tied back black hair now stood in two big horns on either side of his head. His spiked tongue licked over his fangs.

The vision then sped forward. I saw lots of death and destruction, and then it ended abruptly.

"Woah. So Father let his ghost side win then?" I asked after he moved his hand.

"Yes. He became the worst villain known to Time, and nobody could stop him. I couldn't, neither could the observants."

"The vision ended abruptly. What happened?"

"Your father's ghost side knew all the wisdom from his previous host. In his hate-fueled stance, He went looking for Sojourn's journal, found it, and managed to rip apart time itself. It was literally the end of the existence." He sighed.

"So, you pretty much had no choice but to save me." I replied. "To stop all that."

"I could have gone back in time and never let him become that. Killed him before it happened." He responded. "There is also a lot to gain by saving you, Daniel. Not only will we have another God on our side, but you noticed that you hurt Undergrowth, correct?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I didn't even think of that." I thought back to the battle with Undergrowth. "Who is he, anyway?"

"Undergrowth is the leader of the race called Hellborn. You all called them demons." He led the way back into the main room, where my copy and Sam laid on the couch. We passed them to the bookshelves on the right. He floated to the top shelf, and pulled out an ancient book. He flipped through the pages until he found the one he wanted me to see.

I took the book from him as he offered it to me.

 _Hellborn:_

 _At the start of creation, the Four Kingdoms lived in perfect harmony. The Frozen Realm supplied wisdom; The Far Realm brought peaceful slumber; The Dragon Realm brought safety; and the Ghost Realm brought comfort. Over time, problems arose. The Far realm was lost to time; while the other Kingdoms thrived._

 _The Unworld houses evil entities. The Unworld is a nightmare realm located between dimensions. The Unworld is home to the Hellborn; the discarded race. As the three Kingdoms thrived, the Unworld became unstable._

 _In the Earth Year 69 AD, the leader of the Hellborn broke free. In what became a 10-year war, with millions of casualties, Undergrowth and his army were defeated. To defeat Undergrowth, Sojourn sacrificed himself, leaving Earth wide destruction in the final battle of Death._

 _The Hellborn are led by Undergrowth, a being with powers that rivaled Celestials. Undergrowth has the ability to eat the very essence of ghosts and Celestials alike. In addition to this, he has numerous other abilities that make him one of the most powerful entities in Existence._

I looked up from the page. "We're so doomed."

"Fear not, Daniel." Clockwork smiled. "For we have hope."

I glanced back at the page. "Who is Sojourn?"

"Sojourn is my brother." He smiled. "Although I missed him greatly, he was released along with Undergrowth."

"Is he a God too?" I asked.

"Yes."

"So Gods can be defeated?" I asked.

"Yes. However, Sojourn was not defeated; Undergrowth was. Sojourn wanted to make sure that he was contained." He sighed. "Cheeky bastard. You two would get along well."

I rolled my eyes. "Your never ending wit astounds me, Clockwork."

"You're starting to sound like me already." He snickered.

I opened my mouth and shut it. I scowled. "Oh shut it!" A light blush crept across my cheeks. I looked back down at the books, flipping through the pages. I noticed that it was a history book, and I flipped it over to look at the cover of the book:

 **EXISTANCE: A HISTORY**

"Short and simple." I shrugged, looking through it again. I flipped the page and stopped cold.

"Daniel." Clockwork's voice was laced with warning. He leaned forward to take the book from me, but I stopped him. I looked back down at the page:

 _Daniel J. Masters_

 _Feb 14, 19XX- May 29, 20XX_

 _Daniel Is the son of Vladimir and Stephanie Masters, grandson of King Pariah. In the year 20XX, Undergrowth was released by an unknown assailant. In the following wars,_ Daniel _was the leader of the Ghost Army, aimed to protect the Ghost World. He also is the leader of the human team Exodus, which consist of humans and ghosts—_

The book was ripped from my hands. Clockwork's expression was unreadable, but when he spoke, I could sense the anger in his voice. "Daniel. This book is not for you to flip through. This book is off limits, understand?"

My mouth gaped open. "Clockwork. I don't understand."

"This book details everything that has happened or will happen. This is a very dangerous book, Daniel." He sighed. "It's my fault for giving it to you." The book disappeared from his hands, and I didn't bother to look for it.

I just had one thing on my mind.

"Clockwork, it listed my death day." I frowned.

"Yes. What of it?"

"May 29 isn't for another two and a half months."

* * *

Author's note:

Sorry readers! I had originally posted this chapter but noticed errors, so I took it down, fixed it and reposted. I apologize! I thrive on reviews, feel free to leave one with anything I need to improve on!


	27. Old Memories

Clockwork frowned. "Daniel, I don't want you to dwell on it. You saw way more than you were supposed to anyway." He scoffed.

"Fine, I'll forget about it for now." I rolled my eyes. "What other cool things can I do as a God?"

"With time, your new abilities will emerge. For now, you've completed your training." He started to walk back out to the main room.

"That's it? One lesson?" I chased after him. "What's the point of that?"

"Daniel, not all of your abilities have surfaced yet." He sighed. "Each Celestial has their own abilities."

"Fine, dodge my question." I walked over to the green screens at the end of the room. There were two of them. "What are these?" The screens were dark.

"These are my viewing orbs." He explained, floating over to me. "I use them to watch Time for any threats."

"Like Undergrowth." I replied.

"Correct."

"Have you found Sojourn yet?" I asked. "He defeated him once, he could be a very big help in doing it again."

"Sojourn will come back when he's ready. He's found only if he wants to be." He sighed.

"What's the story with him anyway? You said he was your brother, but that was kind of vague." I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to think of Clockwork with a brother. I couldn't eve picture it.

"Is now really the time to ask me this?" He asked. "We have more important matters."

"More important? So, finding a God that has already defeated the most powerful entity known to time isn't a top priority?" I crossed my arms. "Care to explain?"

"I've already told you, Daniel. Sojourn will not be found if he doesn't want to be. So until he returns, we have to focus on Undergrowth and his army, and Aragon's war." He said calmly.

I heard a noise behind me. I turned around, and saw Sam throwing up on the floor. My copy was holding her hair and patting her back. I pinched my nose. "That's disgusting."

"It's throw up, Daniel. Not like we haven't all done it before." Clockwork replied.

"Still gross." I shook my head. "You ok, Sam?" I asked.

Sam sat up, looking from my copy to me. "There's two of you!" She shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?"

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Then, I realized that this dumb bitch still didn't recognize ghost copies. I laughed, holding my stomach to steady myself. "Oh my god. Sam, you never disappoint! That's not my brother, you idiot. It's my copy."

My copy snickered. "Two halves of an idiot are still smarter than her."

I floated over to my copy and high fived him. I absorbed my copy back into myself, taking a seat by Sam. "How're you feeling?" I asked. I put my hand on her forehead, which felt normal to me.

"Like shit. I have a lot more respect for you now, Dan." She leaned into me again.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your human form was actually poisoned by your venom, and you almost died. I was in my ghost form before it even started, and I still feel like shit."

I shook my head. "Sam, everyone reacts differently to it."

"Ugh. Why now?" She groaned. "Will I never get a break?"

"I figured it'd be quiet in Amity." I responded.

"Oh no." She scoffed. "I have been catching ghosts left and right. I've pulled a lot of all nighters."

"What? Seriously? Have you talked to any of them, see why they're running?" I asked.

"A lot of them were too panicked to stop and chat. I heard 'demon' a lot." She shook her head. "You already told me all about that when I got here."

Clockwork sighed. "They're not demons. They're Hellborn."

"Hellborn demons." I shrugged.

"No." He grunted. "Hellborn. Not demons."

"You make it too easy to pick on you, old man." I snickered.

"Not as easy as I'll make it." He smiled lightly.

"Bring it on!" I laughed. "I bet you won't be able to find anything on me."

"You forget, Daniel. I can see through time. I can bring up The Thing." He snickered.

I paled. "You wouldn't."

"I will." He floated over to the viewing orbs.

"What's 'The Thing'?" Sam asked, seeing my reaction.

"Nothing!" I ran off the couch, and over to the viewing orbs, but I was too late. The screen flickered to life. Sam walked over to the screen, her eyes glued to the picture. I felt a massive blush creep on my face, but I still watched the scene unfold:

I was two years old. I was running around the house butt ass naked. I had a diaper in my hand which was smeared with feces, and I had stopped to write on the wall with the contents of my diaper. The screen had no audio, but I could see Father chasing after little me. Father tried to catch me, but I had been using my ghost abilities to my advantage. I popped in and out of the air, using some sort of baby teleportation.

"Oh my god." Sam snickered. "How do you even remember this?"

"Father has never let me forget." I scowled. "He brings it up any time it's relevant in any way." I started speaking with the same tone of voice that Father used. "Daniel, remember that time when you were two and—" I cut myself off, switching back to my tone of voice. "Yes Father, I remember!"

She rolled her eyes. "You were a kid back then, Dan. You didn't know any better."

"You're right, I didn't. In my old house before it burned down Father had a framed picture of my scribbles on the wall for a reminder. Doesn't make it any less embarrassing, especially when I brought friends over for the first time and he told them the story." I shuddered. Noah picked on me about it for weeks.

I looked over at Clockwork, who had been silent the entire time. "Daniel." He suddenly spoke. "Did you notice this?" He was staring intently at the screen.

"Yeah, I used to be tiny." I rolled my eyes.

"No." He made the screen bigger, freezing it on a frame. "There." He pointed to a stack of books just barely in frame.

I floated up to the screen, looking at the books. It was hard to make out any of what they were. "They look like dusty old books." I responded. "What's so special about it?"

"Remember when I told you about that grim future that would've happen if you'd died?" He asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. What about it?"

Sam opened her mouth to talk, but when Clockwork started talking, she stayed silent.

"I had told you that your father had went looking for Sojourn's journal." He looked back at the screen, scrunching his eyebrows together. "That's it in the middle, sitting on your Father's desk."

"What?" I looked back at the screen. "Are you sure?" I still couldn't make anything out from the picture.

"Positive. You need to find that journal, Daniel." He sounded really anxious. "I never realized that your father actually had the journal until now."

"I wonder if he ever took it out of the old house." I frowned. "I don't remember seeing that book. Then again, Father has always been very secretive about ghostly artifacts…" I trailed off, thinking hard about the book. From what I could make out, it looked like any other journal. "If I've never seen a book like this before, how will I know what I'm looking for?" I asked.

"You'll feel a pull to it. Like a calling to read it. Don't open that book." He warned. "It's a protection spell, cast by Sojourn himself on it. Opening the book without breaking the spell would drive you to madness. Only Gods can read that book."

"So, in the other timeline, if my father wasn't a god, how did he read it and destroy Time then?" I frowned.

"He was already mad. He had nothing to loose." He replied. "I'd say go to your old house first and search; if that doesn't work, go to your current one." He waved his hand, opening a portal for me.

"Now?" Sam asked. "Is this really important?"

"The fate of Time may rest on it." He responded.

"Since nobody's touched it for now, it makes me believe it's still in the old house." I said. "It would totally be like Father to leave things behind if he's in a hurry." I bit my lip. "Come on, Sam. I can use backup."

"But." She stuttered, then sighed. "Fine."

I turned back to Clockwork. "I'll hurry back, don't worry."

"Don't worry. Everything is as it should be." He replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Nothing. Goodbye, Daniel." He literally pushed the pair of us through the portal.

I tripped on the way out, falling on my face. I spat the dirt out of my mouth, turning intangible to get the rest off. I turned around and noticed Sam also on the ground. I extended a hand and helped her up. She brushed the dirt off her knees, but otherwise she was fine.

"Where are we?" She asked. "Your old house?"

"Yes." I looked around. "We're in Gleset, Wisconsin." I walked forward to the house, almost as if in a trance. The house was burned black from fire, with the roof caved in. There was police caution tape tied around the trees around the property. "No, no, no…"

"Daniel, are you okay?" She asked.

"This is all wrong…" I had went around the caution tape, and was almost to the front door at this time. "This wasn't accidental. This was purposely set on fire." The dead grass crackled under my feet as I walked.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

I crouched down to look at the ground better as I reached the front door. I reached out my hand, scooping some of the ash into my hand to look at it. I sniffed it gently, smelling a very faint smell of gasoline. I swallowed back anger. Who the hell would burn down our house? My first thought would be Mother, but what if Father had set the fire to cover our tracks?

A sudden memory popped into my head:

" _Your mother has not been heard from in six months. It's quite simple, really. I'd say an argument got out of hand, your father killed your mother and burned down the house and brainwashed you, his only remaining heir." Dr. Smith spoke._

I got to my feet. I walked into the house. I remembered this house fondly; I had lived here my entire life. I saw the charred remains of all the furniture, and elemental exposure had caused more damage. I walked to the left, avoiding a pile of rubble that had fallen in from the ceiling. I heard glass crunch, and I looked down. A photo frame laid on the ground. I bent down ad picked it up. It was an old photo of me and Madeline, and if I had to guess we were no older than 5. I smiled. In the photo, I was smiling widely, putting two fingers behind Madeline's head, while she gave the camera an angry look. The top of the photo was burned. I folded it in half and put it in my pocket.

"Just a hunch." I spoke after a long silence. I continued walking back, until I reached my father's study. This house was about a tenth of the size of the one we owned in Amity Park, so it didn't take long to reach the other side of the other side of the house. The office was small, with a desk in the middle of the room. The bookshelves were all burnt, with random pages from books laying on the ground. The bookshelves lined the walls, with normal human books on the shelves. I walked over to the first bookshelf and looked at a book. It was written in ghost speak. I pulled the book forward, and the bookshelf whirred to life, and dropped into the floor, exposing a set of stairs. I whistled. "Predictable as always, Father." I smirked, walking down the stairs.

"So, have you ever been down here?" She asked.

"Only occasionally. There was another entrance by the kitchen. This is Father's private study, where he kept all the off-limits stuff. Things he didn't want Madeline or I getting into." I lit my hand with red energy, lighting the room up. The stairs went down for quite a while, and then they stopped. The room was simple concrete, which looked like it was never finished. It was a plain room, which on first glance looked completely empty.

"There's nothing here, Daniel." Sam appeared beside me. "We're wasting our time."

"My father is a master of hiding shit he doesn't want found." I replied. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I could see the vibrations that items were giving off. I frowned. Clockwork was right. The book was here, I could feel it's pull on me. Question was, where the hell was it? I couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary. I put my hand on the floor, and sent ghostly energy through it.

The room came to life. Several shelves popped into existence from nowhere. I grinned slyly. "Cheeky bastard."

Sam gasped. "Daniel, look at this." Sam walked over to a podium, which held a simple scroll on it.

"Don't touch anything!" I said suddenly. "I don't know what most of this stuff is. It could be dangerous." I looked around. I counted six podiums. The one on the other side of her had a box on it.

The one in the middle had a simple journal sitting on it. I walked towards it, reaching my hand out.

"Watch out!" Sam suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" I said stupidly. The second my hand touched the book an alarm went off. I cussed colorful language under my breath and grabbed the book. I looked around at the other artifacts. The other three podiums were empty. On instinct, I grabbed the scroll and the box. I felt that if they were hidden here, they'd be important.

"How the hell did you see that alarm?" I asked.

"Not sure." She had her hands over her ears. "But it's really loud in here, do you think we should leave?"

"Yeah." I replied. "Probably." I flew back up the steps, with Sam following closely behind me.

I heard a voice speak from the top of the stairs. "Well, what do we have here?"

I stopped dead, leaving Sam to crash into my backside. She started to fall the stairs, but she caught herself. "Sorry, babe. Didn't have a hand to help you." I said to her, then turned back to the person in front of me.

The guy was human, with dark skin and a huge moustache. The guy looked wickedly familiar. He crossed his arms. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in Vladimir Master's house?" His voice was gruff. "This place has been abandoned for nearly a year now."

"If it was abandoned, why are you here?" I asked him. The alarm from the floor below still sounded in my ears. "Never mind." I replied.

"Answer me, ghost." The man pointed a gun at me. I could smell the ecto radium in the gun, which was weird enough. "I will use deadly force."

"Damon!" Sam spoke up from behind me. "You don't want to hurt us."

How the hell did she know this guy?

"Ghost scum like you are what killed this poor family!" Damon growled. "I will not let an innocent family's death end in vain. Last chance, ghost. What do you want?"

My mouth gaped open. "What are you talking about? The Master's family isn't dead."

"Oh yeah? How do you explain the house burning down? How nobody's heard from any of them since then? We found three bodies in the ashes." He narrowed his eyes.

I tensed. What the hell was this guy talking about? I suddenly got a crazy idea. I started to go up the stairs a little bit, making Damon back up. He pointed the gun at me still, but stayed silent. Sam stood beside me. She looked very frightened.

I suddenly shoved everything in my hands into Sam's. I looked back at Damon. Two white rings formed at my waist. I heard Sam gasp and call out, but I ignored her. I felt the cool energy pass over me, and when I opened my eyes, they had returned to their normal blue hue.

Damon leapt back, cussing expletives. "Daniel? What the hell?" He stuttered. "I saw your body. Yours, your mother's, your fathers. I cried for your father. I mourned the entire loss."

"What I don't understand is how Father's been going to work if he's supposed to ne dead." I frowned.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe he's been lying to you again."

"I don't think so. Now about this. He's even taken me to the press conference." I sighed. "Another mystery on our hands, huh?"

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. I whipped around with supernatural speeds, "Show yourself!" I called out.

"Very good, boy." I heard the voice from in front of me. The man came into the light. As he got closer I realized he wasn't a man. It was a ghost. He was bald, with light green skin. He was wearing a loose-fitting white robe, with a gold belt and gold trim on the robe. He clapped slowly.

"Who are you?" I asked. I didn't sense any hostility from the ghost, so I didn't bother changing back to my ghost form.

The ghost smiled. "My name is Sojourn. You have something that belongs to me."


	28. Interrogations

"Sojourn?" I gasped. "Are you here to help us?"

"Perhaps. I'm mostly here for my journal." He held out his hand expectantly.

I glanced over at Sam. I grabbed the journal from her hands, giving it to Sojourn. "My name is Daniel Plasmius. This is Sam Phantom." I introduced us.

"Ah, yes. I see you are a God too, boy." Sojourn looked at his journal in his hand and then circled me. "How did that come to be?"

"My father was brainwashed and tried to kill Sam. So I sacrificed myself for her. Clockwork saved me, and he's had me under his wing since then."

"The Time Master's Apprentice." He grabbed my cape lightly.

I felt a bit uncomfortable. "Yes…" I said slowly.

"My brother has always had a weird way of working things." He walked away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him.

He stopped, smiling lightly. "You will see. We will meet again, Daniel, Sam." He waved his hand, stepping through a portal.

"Listen, Daniel." Damon put his hand on my shoulder. I tensed. I had completely forgotten about him being here. "I'm not sure what's going on, but, could you ask your father if I could see him…?"

I shrugged off his hand. "Damon, my father is currently tied up in some very serious issues. It won't be able to be any time soon."

"Well, sorry to hear that." He frowned.

I scowled. "We need to go back anyway, Sam."

"Well," Damon laughed awkwardly. "Let's not be too hasty, now."

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I just learned that my best friend's family is alive—I just simply want to learn what they've been up to." He wrapped his arm around me.

I was starting to get a very bad vibe from him. What really sucked is that my hunches were usually right.

I scowled. "Well, let's see, Mr. Gray. My mother did actually die, by the way. But we've been good." I made friendly chat with him.

 _Daniel, what are you doing?_

 _Buying us time._

 _Time for what?_

 _For me to figure out his plan._

 _What plan?_

 _I'm not sure. I'm getting a bad vibe from him._

"I'm sorry to hear that, Daniel. Your mother was such a kind, compassionate woman, who I was glad to call a friend." He smiled softly.

"Thank you, Damon. I'm sure—" I cut myself off suddenly.

"What is it, Daniel?" Sam looked at me.

I opened and closed my mouth. I wasn't sure exactly what I was feeling, but I felt like I was trying to teleport with no destination. My sense of unease spiked.

"Subject one captured. Ascend on Subject two." I heard a voice behind me.

I paled. Of course. I had been caught in an anti ghost shield. "Sam! Run!"

Men suddenly surrounded us at every angle.

"There is nowhere for you to run." One of the agents spoke.

Nowhere to run… but another dimension. _Sam._ I spoke in my mind. _Listen to me carefully._

 _Daniel, oh god, we're trapped, what do we do?_

 _I'm going to open a portal._

 _Thank god! I didn't even think that you'd be able to do that._

 _There's a catch._

 _Don't say it, Daniel—_

 _I'm trapped. You need to leave me here._

 _No! No. I won't. I can't._

 _You must. I was too distracted by Damon to keep an eye on my surroundings. You must go._

She turned to look at me. Tears formed on the corners of her eyes. _I'll free you. I promise._

 _Do everything Clockwork tells you to. No ifs, ands, or buts._ I smiled lightly. I visualized Clockwork's tower in my mind. The portal opened. "Now, Sam! Go!"

The agents rushed forward to grab her. She turned herself intangible, freeing herself from their grasp. She ran into the portal, and I closed it behind her.

I put my hand on the barrier in front of me. It held solid, and I tried to phase my hand through it. It zapped me with energy, and I hissed with pain. "I am innocent, gentlemen. You have caught the wrong guy."

"If we caught the wrong guy, the Anti-Ghost portal wouldn't be electrocuting you." The front agent spoke. He walked over to me, and I could see him better. He was African-American, bald, and very tall. He was wearing a white suit, white gloves and black sunglasses. "Daniel Masters, you are hereby under arrest for suspicion of being a ghost."

"You're ridiculous." I scoffed. "I'm human."

"Damon?" The agent asked.

Damon walked forward, a guilty expression on his face. He tapped the cuff of his shirt, and an image popped up. It showed me and Sam walking up the stairs. The video focused solely on me. I watched myself talking to Damon, and then expose myself as a half-human. The video ended abruptly after my transformation.

I gritted my teeth. Damned traitor! There was no hiding it now. Two rings formed at my waist, and I turned back into my ghost form. I smiled slyly. "Good job, gentlemen. You have trapped me." I clapped my hands slowly.

"You will lead us to Sam Phantom." The agent spoke. "You seem to have allied yourself with her."

I floated in mid air, lounging casually inside the shield. Every so often I'd touch the shield, sending sparks through the shield. To them, it looked like I was bored. I was actually testing the barrier. It seemed like it was made of ecto radium, which was the strongest anti-ghost element. Even as a human I'd have trouble getting out of the shield. "Mm. No thanks." I replied calmly.

"Let me rephrase. If you don't lead us to her, we will force our way in. I'm assuming she went into the Ghost Zone." He got right into the edge of the barrier. "Once we find her, you and your freaky little girlfriend are going down, Mr. Masters. Do you understand me?"

I landed gracefully on the ground. I leaned against the barrier. The barrier lit up as I touched it. I licked my tongue over my fangs, grinning wickedly. "I understand you loud and clear, sir. It's just that I have a simple concern."

"What would that be?" He asked. He didn't look the least bit deterred by my threatening demeanor.

"I don't like your plan." I replied casually. My smile faded. I had been trying to threaten this human, but my plan wasn't working. "The Ghost World is very unstable right now. A new portal opening into the Ghost World will destabilize it and threaten life as we know it."

"Ghost World?" The agent replied. "It is not a world, Mr. Masters. It is hardly a zone."

I clicked my tongue. "That is where you are wrong. What's your name anyway? I like to know the name of who's making my threats."

"My name is Operative K." The agent stood to his full height. "Take him back to HQ."

"Aww, but we're having so much fun!" I whined. "The party's just starting."

Operative K walked away. I saw the other agents rush forward to try and restrain me. I smiled wickedly. Lightning rippled up and down my body. I blasted lightning in the direction of anyone who got close. The barrier was still up, so nobody was hurt, but my message got across loud and clear.

"Subject is not cooperating. Deploying the blossoms." Another agent spoke.

Red smoke started coming into the barrier. At first, I wasn't concerned. As the smoke got thicker and thicker, it started to hurt. Then it started to burn. I flew up to the top of the barrier to escape the smoke, but the barrier shocked me and sent me flying back down towards the ground. The smoke entered every crevice of my body, burning, blistering any part it touched. I screamed. The smoke drained my energy, and I couldn't produce enough force to try and use my Ghostly Wail.

Energy passed over my waist, and I turned back into my human form. The pain was less intense, but it still hurt unbearably. I closed my eyes, hoping that the pain would stop. In the back of my mind I wondered if Clockwork knew this was coming. Part of me wanted to say no, but I knew that he did. He must've also knew I'd sacrifice myself for Sam. Again. Sam would always come first before myself.

Water was suddenly poured on my head. I shook the water from my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I had been moved. I must've lost consciousness at some point. I was tied to a chair with my hands behind my back. The cuffs around my hands were made of ecto radium.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Masters." Operative K dropped the bucket on the ground with a loud clang.

"Thanks for that." I replied, my voice full of sarcasm.

"Daniel James Masters." K spoke. "Born February 14, 19XX."

"Mm. I wasn't aware I forgot who I was." I chuckled quietly. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Son to Vladimir and the _late_ Stephanie Masters." K stressed the word late. He was trying to get a reaction from me.

I gritted my teeth. This jerk would not win. "Correct." I stated, my voice neutral.

K flipped the folder shut with a loud clank. He set it on a desk in front of me. "Where have you been for the past year, Masters?"

I looked him in the eye. Well, I looked him in the sunglasses. I narrowed my eyes. "Fuck. You." I hissed.

"Very mature." He scoffed. "You'd think that you would treat me with more respect, since I hold your life in my hands."

My eyes burned green. "You think I care about dying? I've already died once, Operative K. I am taking pity on you, human."

I heard shifting. I realized we weren't alone. I looked around the room. It was a plain room, with only the chair I was sitting in and the desk in the room. There was another agent at the door. He saw me looking at him and looked away almost instantly.

"This started out as a mission to capture the elusive Sam Phantom. However, I think we've found a new target: you. So, why don't you cooperate with us and tell us more about her? We can cut a deal."

I pretended to think about it. "Such a hard decision."

"My patience is wearing thin."

"I think I'll have to go wiiiith…" I trailed off, until the agent made an aggravated noise. "How about fuck you." I looked at the agent by the door. "Fuck you too."

"I guess we'll have to try this the hard way." K crossed his arms, but he smiled. "I'll enjoy watching this for sure."

I was just about to question him when I felt electricity spark through the handcuffs. It traveled up my arms and all over my body. Instead of hurting me, I felt more powerful from the shock. I grinned wickedly. "My dude! You've come through for me after all, mentor."

K looked nervous. "Turn it off!"

The handcuffs stopped emitting electricity. I still felt power running up and down my body. My mind was clear, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I could see the vibrations emitted by objects. I pulled apart the vibrations to see the Time Stream.

"He's doing something. His eyes are gold. Knock him out, Operative O!" K backed up.

I slowed down time. Eventually it stopped, and I could see everything was stopped just as it was seconds ago. The smile faded from my face. I may have bought myself time, but how the hell was I going to get out of the handcuffs? I looked down at my feet. I also had handcuffs around my ankles. I was tied to the chair by a rope around my waist. Man, these guys were such overkill.

I tried to phase myself out of the holdings, but both of the handcuffs on my hands and feet shocked me. While it gave me more energy, it still hurt after a few seconds. I frowned. I knew this was a test, so all I had to do that think. I had let myself get into this situation by being caught off guard.

I got a sudden idea. I lit my hands up with fire. The ecto radium burned my hands, as did the fire, but I kept it lit. The fire got more and more powerful, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming out.

The handcuffs exploded on my wrists. I pulled them off. There was still the rope around my waist. I felt a lot of heat come from behind my eyes, and I expelled it while looking at the rope. Two rays came from my eyes, melting the rope. Cool! If I had that power now, I definitely wouldn't complain.

I looked at my hands. My hands were blistered from the flames, and they hurt a lot. I knew I had gone over what my human body could tolerate, but I couldn't think of what else to do.

"He's escaping!" I heard shouts.

I looked up. I must've lost my focus on the Time Stream, and time was routed back to normal. I changed back to my ghost form. My hands still hurt, but I knew I'd be able to handle it better like this. The handcuffs around my ankles were shocking me, but I was too pumped to really feel it anymore. I lit my hands up with more fire, ignoring the pain, and aimed it at my ankles. After a few seconds, the handcuffs exploded and fell off my ankles.

I got to my feet. "Silly humans. Did you think you could contain me?" I laughed.

"Fire at will!"

I felt guns shooting at me. The bullets were normal bullets. I gasped, completely taken off guard.

"Hold your fire!"

I felt blood dripping down my chest. The bullet holes hurt, but I knew they weren't fatal. I dug my fingers into the bullet holes one by one. "Sorry guys…" I pulled three bullets from my chest, dropping the bullets on the ground. "But this sort of thing doesn't work on me."

The agents looked at each other, and most of them ran out of the room. The room emptied out, leaving only me and Operative K.

"I'm leaving." I said, breaking the silence.

"Over my dead body." He growled.

"I've never hurt anyone on purpose." I responded. "I tend to stay out of violence. I tend to keep that promise."

"Your kind has hurt more than any way." He hissed.

"Mm, so has yours." I replied casually. I spun on my heels and teleported out of the room, but I felt something latch on to me. I looked down and saw K handing off my feet, and I changed my direction quickly.

We landed at the first place that came to mind.

I was looking at the FentonWorks building.


	29. Trials and Tribulations

"That's smart." Operative K chided. "Land on the doorstep of a family of ghost hunters."

"You've heard of the Fentons?" I asked.

"Of course we have." He got to his feet, and pointed an ecto gun at me. "This time I'll use the right gun." The gun rested on my chest.

"Good. You know what they're capable of, then." I smirked, changing back to my human form. At the same time, I yelled loudly to try and get the attention of the people in the house.

"What are you doing?" K scowled.

The door bust open. I made a face and tried to look scared. "Maddie! Jack! This madman is trying to hurt me!"

"You little-!" K started to speak, but he was tackled by Jack.

I ran into Maddie's arms, and she shielded me from Jack and K's wrestling. "What's going on, Daniel?" Maddie asked.

"I'll explain everything, I promise. Just save me!" I gave her a puppy dog look.

"This is not over!" K yelled.

"Oh, yes it is!" Jack screamed. He literally threw K down the street. He turned back to me and Maddie, getting the dust off his gloves.

Maddie led me inside. She gestured to the couch, and I took a seat. They sat on either side of me. "Daniel, we haven't seen you in months. What's going on?"

I frowned. "What has Sam told you about her social life?"

They both shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure what Sammy's got to do with this—" Jack interrupted.

"Sam's got everything to do with this. Has she told you about her 'other life'?" I asked.

"She told you?" Maddie asked. I nodded. "It took Jazz having to tell us for us to figure it out."

"Sammy's not in trouble again, is she?" Jack asked. "That child has gotten into more trouble than we can keep up with!"

"Oh, no. I'm sorry to have intruded on you two, I just wasn't sure what else to do." I got to my feet.

"Where are you going?" Maddie asked.

"Nowhere for now. I'm just pacing." I sighed. "Since she's told you everything, I'll tell you everything, too." Two rings formed at my waist, and I turned back into my ghost form.

Maddie gasped. "You're a ghost too?"

"How many of you are there?" Jack exclaimed.

I snickered, taking a seat back between them. "See, I'm not a ghost. Not anymore." I frowned, collecting my thoughts. Clockwork had explained to me that now I was no longer a ghost. I was half human, half God. Father was right when he had called me a demigod.

"What are you then?" Maddie asked.

"I'm a God." I explained. "See, there's a lot about ghost history that you two don't know." They tried to interrupt, but I held up a finger to silence them. "There are three types of ghosts: Created, born, and regular. A created ghost is like Sam, who became one in an accident. My Father and I are born ghosts. We're half-human, half-ghost. I was until I was made into a God."

"Why are you different?" Jack asked. "What makes you special?"

I laughed nervously. "Three to four months ago—I'm not sure, actually. It's so easy to loose track of time between dimensions." I hesitated.

"It's April 12th." Jack replied casually.

A little over a month until I die. I swallowed nervously, pushing the thought from my head. "Anyway. Tucker was kidnapped, along with my father. We went to save them. This guy named Freakshow had a ghost mind controlling staff. He had me and my father under his control instantly. Sam was less easy to control, thank god. A fight broke out. It ended with my father to try and kill Sam—"

"What?" Maddie blurted out. "How dare your father—"

"Mind control." I interrupted. "My father would never hurt anyone."

Or would he?

Maddie clicked her tongue. "Fine. Continue."

"I had wrestled back control of my mind, and I jumped in front of Sam, taking the full blast for her. I died that day."

"If you died, how are you sitting here?" Jack poked my shoulder, almost as if I was a dream.

I scowled. "I was saved by the God. The creator of Time, Clockwork. He turned me into a God, saving my life." I took my cloak off. The symbol on the back was smudged, and I wiped the dirt off of it, showing the time symbol. "That day, I became the Apprentice of Time to Clockwork. I have been training under him ever since."

"You never explained what happened with Sammy. She's disappearing all the time now. It's been two weeks since she left." Maddie looked desperate.

"There is a ghost war going on. I told her that we needed her help—"

"She's only a child!" Maddie exclaimed. She got to her feet. "She is only 15 years old! She has nothing to do with a war! I demand you go get her and bring her home!"

I sighed. "Mrs. Fenton. I'm only 15. I watched my sister die when I was 11, and I watched my mother die a few months ago. Then I died myself, saving your daughter. Today, I went to my old house in Wisconsin and saw it burned to the ground. Please tell me I'm only a child."

She hesitated. "I'm sorry all that has happened to you, Daniel. But Sammy has nothing to do with this. Please bring her home before she's hurt." Tears formed in her eyes.

"She's at the safest place in the multiverse right now." I replied. "Bringing her home would only cause you trouble when the Hellborn break through to Earth. They would feel her ghostly aura and kill your entire family." I sighed. I got to my feet. "Look, Maddie. I understand that you're scared for your daughter, but you have to believe me when I say that I would lay down my life for her if it meant she came home to you."

Jack sniffled. "That was beautiful." He got up and hugged me tightly. "Thank you for protecting our daughter."

"What's the Hellborn?" Maddie asked, changing the topic.

"They're the race of everything vile that the multiverse has to offer. We're trying to force them back into their dimension, but it's proving more and more difficult with each attempt." I sighed.

"Is there anything we can do?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, we want to help!" Jack agreed.

I thought about it. I had an idea. "I'll be right back." I spun on my heels, teleporting out of the room. I appeared in the living room of my house. I saw the box I was looking for sitting right on the table where we'd left it. I grabbed the box quickly, teleporting back to the Fenton's house.

"What's that, Daniel?" Maddie asked, approaching the box.

I handed her the box. She pulled out Sam's outfit for the Exodus team. It was lime green, with white boots and white gloves. On the front was a huge black E written on the front.

"How is a jumpsuit going to help?" Maddie asked, eyeing the costume. "Not that jumpsuits aren't attractive I just don't get it."

"My father and I were in the middle of putting together a team of ghost fighters." I replied calmly. "Sam and I were the start, and I think he wanted Jazz in on it."

"We can't afford to do something of what you're saying." Maddie frowned. "You're talking about training and making outfits for multiple people."

I turned back into my human form and dug in my back pocket. I was still wearing jeans that Sam had picked out for me. I would never admit that they were very comfortable. I pulled out my wallet. I shuffled through the cards until I found the one I was looking for. I handed the card to Maddie. It was my father's American Express business card.

"I can't accept this." She looked uncomfortable.

"You can and you will." I replied. "It has no limit. It's for the good of the world, Mrs. Fenton."

She opened and closed her mouth. "Okay. What do we need to do?"

"Jazz has training already, I think. Tucker too. They've been in on Sam's secret since day one. I haven't really interacted with either of them, so I'm not sure of what they can do." I paused. "Dash Baxter. I owe him a personal favor. He's in, too."

"Baxter?" Jack asked. "He's a bully to Sammy. Absolutely not."

"I think he's had a change of heart." I replied simply.

"What did you do?" Maddie asked.

"Broke his knee." I shrugged. "He hasn't bullied anyone since."

Maddie sighed. "I know you're probably not good at Earth customs, Daniel—"

"Oh no, I understand them perfectly fine. I was born on Earth, Mrs. Fenton. I have lived on Earth for most of my life. It's just this past year I've been in the Ghost World." I snickered. "I knew exactly what I was doing with Dash."

Maddie sighed. "Alright. Will three teenagers be enough?"

"Plus us, Mads." Jack responds.

"Yeah, that too. Will it be enough?" She looked at me.

I crossed my arms. "Probably not, but it'll have to do. If you can find anyone else to bring into the mix, it'd help." I looked at my watch. I had already wasted most of the day ditching the Guys in White. I knew that not much time had passed in the Ghost World, but I was still wasting time. "I have to go."

"Wait. How will we get in contact with you?" Maddie asked.

"Tie a note to the boomerang." I snickered. I remembered the boomerang that Sam used to find me in the Ghost World so long ago. It went off your ghost signature.

"Seems like a slow method." Jack said.

"It is." I responded. "Unless you can make a multi-dimensional cellphone, I don't know what to tell you."

"Multi-dimension?" Maddie asked. "Is that possible?"

"Yes." I shrugged. "I had a cellphone like that, but I gave it to Sam for emergencies."

"Uh, we'll get right on it." Jack responded.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say." I changed back into my ghost form. I pictured Clockwork's tower in my mind, and waved my arm. I stepped through the portal, closing it behind me. I looked around.

I was in the living room. I couldn't see anyone around, but I could sense them nearby.

"Daniel." Clockwork called.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I messed up." I frowned, walking towards the sound of Clockwork's voice. "I don't need a lecture."

"Actually you did perfect." He smiled lightly.

"What?" I gaped. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Everything is as it should be."

"Okay, dude, seriously, what does that even mean?" I asked.

"It means everything is as it should be." He smirked.

"Okay, fortune cookie." I rolled my eyes. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to go back out and attack Undergrowth." He replied calmly.

"That's your plan? We should go find my father. He's gotta be worried sick about me. Skulker could help us, too!"

"Skulker won't be able to help. He's fighting against Aragon's kin." He responded.

"What about Ember?" I asked.

"She's hiding with the rest of the women and children." He shrugged.

"What if we got Aragon on our side?" I asked.

He clicked his tongue. "Not likely."

"Yeah, cause he's mad about my mother marrying Father, right?" I asked. He nodded. "What's the deal with that anyway?"

"You're seriously asking about that now?" Sam appeared from nowhere.

"Gaah!" I started. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"My mother's belly." She snickered.

"Sam, I swear to god—"

"The other room, dipshit." She laughed.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Sam, what are you talking about?"

"Well, while you were gone, Clockwork and I were studying those two artifacts we found at your house. Did you know the Ghost World has a map?" She asked, opening the scroll in her hands.

"What?" I walked over to her. I looked at the scroll. The inside of the scroll was green, and I could see several natural portals opening and closing on the map. I also saw a permanent point labeled 'Fenton Portal'. I whistled. It was actually pretty cool.

"Watch this." She pointed at the map. In the middle of the map, it got darker in a specific spot. I watched as the Hellborn escaped into the Ghost World again.

"Well, at least we know where to find them now." I frowned. "How many minions does Undergrowth have?"

"Minions?" Clockwork asked.

"Yeah. Underlings. Minions. Whatever you want to call them." I shrugged.

"He has thousands of soldiers." He frowned. "It will be very difficult."

"Well, we can always meet up with the refugees of the Far Frozen again. Nocturn said we could use his army." I rolled up the map.

"Are you sure you want to bring them back into it?" He asked.

"We're going to have to. Us three can't take them all on." I paused, getting an idea. "Hey, Clockwork. Do the observants fight?"

"No."

I scowled. "Do you think they would?"

"Nope."

"Ugh." I groaned. "That's not a help. We're spread too thin here." I looked over at Sam, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me, Dan. I've got nothing." She shrugged.

"I just wish this were easier!" I exclaimed.

"Nothing in life is ever easy, Daniel." He replied. "Sometimes we have tests."

"It seems like everything is a test lately. Why can't I ever get a _day_ of goddamned peace?"

He laughed. "Welcome to my world, Daniel."

"Would it be a waste of time to contact King Pariah?" I asked.

He frowned. "I'm not sure about it being a waste of time. Just energy."

"Are you ever helpful?" I asked. "You keep telling me runaround after runaround and it' really pissing me off—stop laughing!"

Clockwork continued to laugh. "I'm sorry, you have to understand that this is very entertaining to me."

"I'm glad it is." I replied sarcastically. "Do you have anything useful to add to the conversation, or are you going to continue to torment me, old man?"

"Ooh, old man." He snickered. "Your favorite insult. Do you even know how old I am, Daniel?"

"Older than me, so I don't care." I replied simply.

He clicked his tongue. "Bratty kids these days." He nudged Sam's arm. "What do you think?"

"Oh yes. Dan is very bratty." She agreed.

"You're both ganging up on me!" I yelled. "What is this, high school?"

"No, you dropped out." Sam replied.

I rolled my eyes. "If you two are done, we actually have matters at hand."

"Nah, I like roasting you." Clockwork smiled wickedly.

"Of course you do. You never fully answered my question, Clockwork. Would it be a waste of time to try and get help from Pariah?"

"You're more than likely to try, Daniel. I only saw three outcomes of them helping."

"You looked at the future?" I asked him. "Could you tell me what to do?"

"Not necessarily." He floated over to his viewing orb. "Remember how I said when you are involved in the Time Stream that you can't see the future outcome?"

I nodded. "Which is why I couldn't see it."

"I can't either. Which means two things. One, I die, which is very unlikely. Or two, I'm directly involved." He responded. He waved his hand, and the screen came to life. It started with past events. When I moved to Amity Park. When I met Sam. When I became a God. When I came to the Ghost World to fight. Then, the screen flickered and fizzled. When the image became clear, I saw someone walking between the bodies of the dead. I couldn't tell if the person was human or ghost, or who it was. I just knew it wasn't me or Sam.

I frowned. "Great. So we've got nothing."

"We've got hope, Daniel. You can't loose hope."

"I can't help it, Clockwork. The odds are stacked against us!" I held up fingers. "We have evil humans that released the Hellborn in the first place. Then, we've got the Ghost War. Then, we have the Hellborn War. And finally, we have the Guys in White who attempted to torture me! What else is going to be thrown our way? Why can't something go right for once?" Tears sprung in the corners of my eyes.

"Daniel—" Clockwork reached his hand forward, but I slapped it back.

"No! I have watched countless people die. Good people. Madeline. Mother. People injured under my watch, and I have been powerless to stop it! Powerless!" My hands glowed faint gold, and I looked down at them. "I have all this power, and I can't use it to help anyone."

"You know that's not true." Sam said softly.

"Yes it is. Think about it. I have been outsmarted by everyone. _I'm not strong enough to end this war."_ By now, the tears fell freely down my face.

He sighed. "Sometimes wars aren't ended by strength." He smiled. "Sometimes they're ended by smarts."

"Like Sojourn outsmarting Undergrowth." I responded.

Clockwork nodded. "Yes."

"So what do we do?" I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"We be smart." Clockwork waved his hand, opening a portal. He disappeared into it.

I followed him in without question.


	30. Sojourn

We stepped out of the portal. We were standing in a part of the Ghost World I had never been in before. I noticed that while the sky was still dark, the place felt homey. It was a gigantic island with trees, and a natural river running through it. There was a huge skull in the distance, but it was rundown. It would be a very creepy place if it wasn't so beautiful.

I felt Sam come out of the portal behind me. "Where are we, Clockwork?" I asked.

The ghost turned around and looked at me. I couldn't see his face from under the hood, but I could tell something was bothering him. "We are taking the initiative—Sojourn is on this island." He replied.

I frowned, noticing the displeased tone of his voice. I decided to drop it. If he wanted to talk about it he would.

"I thought you said you didn't want to look for him." Sam stated.

"I didn't. If it wasn't for this war I would have left him be. Times will get tough if we don't act fast." He replied.

"Undergrowth." I gritted my teeth.

"We have attacks on every side, Daniel." He stated. "If we try the divide and conquer like we are, we will fail. Millions will die."

"So, what do we do? We're spread to thin." I looked over at Sam, but she was too busy looking around at the island to reply. I looked back at Clockwork. He had started to slowly float forward, his hand extended. I froze. I had never seen him use his powers before. His hand glowed a faint gold, using it to light up his path.

I lit my hand up with red energy, since it was brighter than the gold energy. I kept a defensive stance, since we weren't sure what to expect. I got Sam's attention. "Watch my six." She nodded walking behind me, her hands raised.

"You two are defensive." Clockwork commented.

"Well, no shit. We don't know Sojourn; all those years in the Hellborn's dimension could have changed him." I spoke.

"I don't think so." He replied casually.

"How are you so confident?" I asked.

"Like you, Daniel, I am close with my sibling. I was, before he disappeared. I have complete faith in him." He continued to walk forward.

I pulled out my human cellphone. I snapped photos of the island as we walked past. It was truly a beautiful sight. The rundown skull was a waterfall, cascading into the stream, the water bubbling around lazily. I looked closer and noticed the water slightly glowed. Did everything in the Ghost World glow? I thought about it and realized that the answer was probably yes.

I guess I knew less about the Ghost World than I thought. I had only been here a few times in my life before now, but I had always prided myself on my knowledge of my home world. It just seemed like I knew less and less about it the more I found out.

I liked being in the Ghost World. It felt natural to me. But at the same time, it wasn't home.

I now knew I had no plans on making a career in the Ghost World.

We stopped suddenly, and I literally crashed into the back of Clockwork. Sam crashed into the back of me. "Hey! What gives?" Sam asked, rubbing her head.

Clockwork's ageless face looked strained. "Sojourn," He spoke to the darkness. "My brother, I am here."

"Took you long enough." A voice said from the shadows. "I feared you would not come."

"I wanted to give you time." Clockwork continued. "I figured you'd come when you want to."

"How humble." Sojourn spoke. "How stupid." His white cloak swished around him as he walked.

"Will you fight by my side once more, brother?" Clockwork asked.

"You are a fool." Sojourn spoke. "We cannot defeat Undergrowth, nor his army. We are too weak; too divided."

"Ah, I guess you heard, then." Clockwork frowned.

"Yes. I heard of the betrayal of Aragon and his kin." Sojourn sighed.

"He is angry." Clockwork stated. "He just needs time—"

"We have waited long enough!" Sojourn hissed. "Good ghosts are dying every day. We have delayed long enough. Aragon needs to fight for us or against us. We cannot hope for change but strive for failure."

I whistled. "Sounds deep."

"This is not a joke, Mr. Plasmius." Sojourn narrowed his white eyes. "This is life or death of Time."

"I never said it was a joke!" I insisted, then stopped. "Death of Time? Could Undergrowth really unravel Time itself?"

"You understand now, yes?" He spoke.

I nodded. I had made jokes around the fact that Undergrowth was an anti-god. It just clicked in my mind. He _was_ an anti-god. A Hellborn. If my theory was right, every power that Gods had, he had the opposite effect. He is like a poison that couldn't be contained.

"So how did you defeat him all those years ago?" I asked him. "If he's like an anti-god, wouldn't your powers cancel each other out?"

"Anti-god?" Sam asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You are naïve, child. While our powers are polar opposites, they work in different ways. His powers rely solely on his connection to his dimension. We cut off his ties to his dimension, and he is weakened enough to be beaten."

My mouth gaped. "So, we close the portal, he weakens. How do we do that?" I asked.

"The portal has to be closed on each end. By Gods." Clockwork replied.

"There's one thing I don't understand, Sojourn." Sam spoke up. "All those years ago, why did you have to sacrifice yourself? Why not just close the portal?"

"Undergrowth grabbed me in a last ditch effort to save himself. He drained me like a battery. He had almost consumed my essence, when Clockwork pushed Undergrowth back into his dimension, taking me with him. If I had pulled myself away from him, he would've escaped again. I made sure he was gone this time." Sojourn sighed.

"What's his dimension like?" I asked.

"Like a hellish landscape. The volcanoes are erupting constantly. The sky is pitch black from ash. The ground is melted from the excess heat. It's a hellish landscape." He looked into the distance. "We cannot stay here. We must battle Undergrowth. If he wins, he will turn the Human World into that landscape, and he will destroy the Ghost World."

I nodded. "We have to stop him before it's too late!"

"How big is your army?" Sojourn turned to look at me. "We will need every ghost to fight we can get."

I frowned lightly, thinking about it. "There is a colony of ghosts at the Far Frozen. We can get many to fight from there. I also have the use of Nocturn's army."

"Nocturn?" Sojourn asked. He looked at Clockwork. "You didn't tell me that he had returned."

"We haven't had time to catch up, brother." Clockwork replied calmly. "We can talk on the way."

"No time to speak." Sojourn held up his hand. "As we talk, Undergrowth gets closer and closer to unraveling time. The observants have done well protecting the Time Stream, but I fear it may not hold."

Clockwork nodded. "You felt the disturbance also?"

Sojourn nodded. "I have."

"What disturbance?" I asked. I hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary.

"You're not as sensitive to Time as we are, Daniel." Clockwork explains. "With time, you'll feel the slightest disturbance. You're not used to the feeling yet."

I looked at Sam. She shrugged. "I don't understand enough of the conversation."

"I thought your ghost speak was doing good, though?" I asked.

"It is. I'm just not as fast at it as the rest of you." She shrugged.

I frowned. "Clockwork, will I ever become a true God?"

"Of course you will, Daniel." Clockwork smiled. "It just takes time."

"We don't have time!" I suddenly yelled. "You heard Sojourn—Undergrowth is getting closer to ripping time apart! We have to act fast, but I don't even know how to control time that good. It takes me too much concentration. I can't do it." I looked down at my feet.

I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I looked up. Clockwork smiled kindly down at me. "Daniel, you've been doubting yourself a lot lately. This is a big change for you. I know you have it deep inside you to do what it takes to be a hero."

"Do you ever feel like you don't matter?"

"That's a heavy question, Daniel. What brought that on?"

"It's just something that's been on my mind. Every time I try to help someone it ends worse. Why keep trying?"

"I've watched many innocent people die. Every life list I fell deeper into this chasm of darkness. I had never felt so useless. My actions made no difference. I could do nothing but witness history."

"What changed?"

Clockwork laughed. "I admit I have my days, but you know what they always say. 'Time heals all wounds'… I was given a choice to save people. I made a difference, for once. Ever so slowly, I am making a change. That's where I am now."

I nodded slowly. "I guess I can understand that."

"The only thing we can do is move forward, Daniel. We do that by defeating Undergrowth and saving everyone." He smiled.

I nodded again. "Alright. Let's go." I waved my hand, making a portal to the Far Frozen. I stepped through the portal, sensing everyone follow me. It was a peaceful scene. Ghosts were talking to each other, laughing and having a good time. Children ran between parent's legs. Snow was coming down gently, but it wasn't that cold. I smiled.

"Aww!" Sam stood next to me. She pointed in the distance, where I could see a very familiar ghost…

"Ember?" I called out.

Ember turned around. "Daniel! Sam!" She walked over to us slowly, and I noticed she had something in her arms. She stopped right in front of us. "Meet Blaise." She put the bundle in my arms.

I looked down at the baby. He had pale green skin, dark green hair, and as I looked he opened his eyes. He also had dark green eyes. He looked like a mini version of Skulker, except he had a splash of freckles across his face. "Where'd you come up with the name Blaise?" I asked Ember.

"Skulker actually suggested it. It's a twist on blaze, which is another word for Ember!" She laughed.

"Well, it's good to get some young blood in our family, I guess." I put my finger on the baby's tiny nose, and he yawned, grabbing my finger.

Sam came around and set her head on my shoulder. "Blaise is so cute!" She cooed. She rubbed some snow off of his hair.

"Who's this with you?" Ember asked. She looked past us, to where she could see Clockwork and Sojourn.

"That's Clockwork and Sojourn." I told her. "They're my Godly mentors."

"Gods?" Ember's eyes widened. She bowed deeply. "I meant no disrespect, good sirs!"

Clockwork snickered. "That's not necessary, Ember."

Ember stood, a slight blush on her face. "What brings all of you here? Fleeing the demons, too?"

Clockwork made an agitated noise. "They're not demons! They're the Hellborn!"

Sojourn snickered. "Good luck getting that point across, brother."

"It's been very quiet here." Ember states. "We haven't had one attack."

"The Hellborn don't like the cold. If we could find a source cold enough to injure them, we might have a better chance." Sojourn spoke up.

Sam suddenly sneezed. A ray of ice-cold energy shot from her hand. We all stopped talking and looked at her. Her red eyes were wide, and she had a shocked expression on her face.

"Uh… bless you…?" I said slowly.

"Well, that helps." Sojourn spoke.

"Helps what?" Sam asked. "What does that mean?"

"You've gained a new ability." Clockwork replied. "One of which, with the proper training, can turn the tide of the war."

I turned to Ember, giving back Blaise. The baby cooed and his aura glowed brighter. Ember smiled down at him, her green eyes sparkling.

"Aww." Sam cooed. "That's adorable!"

"Ghost infants feel safe in their mother or father's arms." Ember states. "When they're happiest, their auras are brightest."

"He's a Plasmius, of course he's safe." A voice spoke from behind Ember.

I knew that voice anywhere.

"Father!" I cried, zipping around Ember and throwing my arms around him. He hugged me back equally as tight as I hugged him.

"Oh, Daniel. I've been so worried." He stroked my hair as he hugged me. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too!" I buried my head into his chest.

"Please stop trying to die." He spoke quietly.

"I'm a teenager, Father. My generation is full of kids trying to off themselves." I laughed quietly.

"Well, stop it. You're not human, Daniel. Not anymore." He said.

"I'm half-human, Father. Or did you forget that?" I asked.

"I didn't forget. I just chose to ignore it."

Sam cleared her throat. "Uh, Dan? War?"

I separated myself from Father. "Oh, right." A small blush crept across my cheeks. "Father, will you help us?"

"Of course I will." He smiled. "I'm sure your friends will, too."

"Any word on Aragon?" I asked him.

"No. I haven't heard anything since my Father and Skulker left to fight." He sighed. "I just wish we could get through to him!"

"Sometimes it's a lost cause." I replied.

Father led the way through the ghosts. They waved as we walked past, but none stopped to talk to us. Ember had disappeared back into the crowd, but I knew she'd be fine. I rubbed my hands together. It was starting to get colder with the snow swirling around. I looked over at Sam. Her hair was growing to her shoulders now, with the snow mixing in with her hair blended into the white color of it. Her black jumpsuit was starting to turn gray from constant use. I never stopped to appreciate anything in my life. Even I had to admit how much my life had changed since moving to Amity Park.

"Dan, why are you staring at me?" Sam asked.

"I'm really glad I met you, Sam. I'm just thinking about how different my life would be if I never moved to Amity Park." I smiled.

She smiled. "Me, too, Dan."

I grabbed her hand, lacing her fingers through mine. We continued on, until we reached a large group of ghosts. I noticed that there were the leader ghosts from before in this group also. Frostbite, Nocturn, and Warden Walker stood off to the side, talking quietly. Even with my enhanced hearing, I still couldn't make out what they were saying.

As we walked over to them, they stopped talking. "Ah, Daniel." Nocturn spoke slowly. "We were just wondering where you'd been."

I laughed nervously. "I've been around."

"I see you've brought an entourage." Walker spoke, smiling lightly. "Hello, Vladimir."

"I wanted to talk to you, Warden." Father walked over to Walker. "May we chat for a moment?"

Walker's smile dropped. "If it's about your wife's escape, I still have no idea how she did it."

"Not entirely about that." Father smiled. "Let's talk a minute, hmm?" He put his hand on Walker's shoulder, leading him away from the group. The pair were gone within seconds.

I frowned. "Nocturn, it's time."

Nocturn smiled, his fangs coming through his teeth. "I thought you'd never say it."

I put my hands together. "Let's catch an overgrown plant."


	31. Victory

Author's note:

Sorry about the month-long hiatus! In between switching jobs, I've had a writer's block for this story. Going back through my notes I was able to complete the chapter. Sorry guys!

Recap:

Daniel, Clockwork and Sam went looking for Sojourn. They found him on a deserted island in the ghost world, and he agreed to help them fight. Ember and Skulker's baby was born: a son, named Blaise. Sam's ice powers finally manifested, giving an advantage in the war against the Hellborn.

Daniel and his father, Vlad Plasmius, were reunited in Frostbite's domain. The two were able to bring a huge army consisting of Frostbite's army, Nocturn's army, and ghosts that agreed to help.

The six of us walked toward the tunnel's exit. "Nocturn, how fast can your army come to fight?" I asked him.

"They can be here within seconds, Daniel." Nocturn replied.

"Awesome!" I spoke. "We just have to get that group of teens that fought with me last time and we'll be good, I think."

"My army will join you as well, Daniel." Frostbite spoke. "Some will have to stay behind to protect the population, but what I can spare will go with you."

"Thank you, Frostbite." I smiled. "Every little bit helps."

"I just wish Aragon would fight with us." Nocturn said. "He's a stubborn old dragon."

I snickered. "Yeah, that's literally his job title."

"Maybe he will." Sam said quietly.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Well, he's either here to attack us or befriend us."

"What?!"

I followed her gaze. We were near the mouth of the tunnel, and could see out into the Ghost World. In the distance, I could see a huge mass of ghosts. I bit my lip. Could we amass an army fast enough to fight them? As if reading my thoughts, the rest of the group tensed. I was just about to bark out orders to get the army ready when I paused.

The group of dragons was led by Skulker.

"What the hell?" I asked myself. This made no sense. Why would Skulker lead the army if they were attacking? What if they weren't attacking?

"Daniel?" Sam asked. "What do you see?"

"You can't see that?" I asked.

She shook her head. "All I could sense is the dragons; what am I missing?"

I looked at Clockwork and Sojourn. They nodded. I wasn't crazy. "Skulker's leading the group. Is my eyesight better than yours?"

"Maybe it's a godly attribute." I shrugged. I could hear Clockwork snickering behind me.

"No, I see him now, too." Nocturn scrunched his eyes.

We all waited with bated breath as the group landed. Skulker was indeed leading the group. They walked towards us.

Skulker broke into a huge smile. "Daniel!" He hugged me tightly. "How are you, little man?"

"Uh…" I hesitated. "Good?"

"That's what I like to hear!" Skulker laughed.

"What's going on?" I asked him. "We thought they were attacking."

"No, no." He shook his head. "Aragon, you wanna explain?"

The dragon behind Skulker raised a claw to his throat. In an instant, he became a man. He wore elegant purple robes. He pushed his gray hair behind his ears. "Daniel. I owe you and your race an apology."

"What for?" I asked. I racked my brain on any explanation, but I couldn't think of one.

"I have been manipulated by fear and hate." Aragon sighed. "I had this ghost come to my Kingdom—a female. At first, I tried to fight her. Then, the next thing I know I'm in the human world, tied up. This human spoke in a language I didn't understand. But somehow, I knew what he was saying. He spoke of broken promises, betrayed trust. My sister leaving me, my wife dying, my daughter's disobedience. I declared war on the ghost species without stopping to think of why. I apologize. I have been foolish."

I smiled. "So, you'll fight beside us?"

"Yes. Me and my race are ready to serve you." He bowed.

I bowed back to him. "I accept your apology. We can put this silly war behind us and fight the true threat—Undergrowth."

"Ah, yes. I remember that tyrant." Aragon frowned. "Undergrowth attacked my kingdom many millennia ago. Destroyed most of our homes."

"That sounds terrible!" Sam said.

"Why is the female speaking to me?" Aragon scowled.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Aragon, this is Sam. She's my girlfriend, and I would appreciate it if you spoke to her by her name."

"Uhuh." He wrinkled his nose. "If you say so."

I scowled. "The one thing I don't tolerate is disrespect to my girlfriend, Aragon."

"Dan, it's okay." She squeezed my hand. She smiled. "Really, it's fine."

I sighed. "Okay. This isn't the matter at hand anyway. Aragon, Skulker, we've learned that Undergrowth is close to figuring out to unraveling Time. We need to stop him before he does."

"Unraveling Time?" Skulker asked. "Is that possible?"

"Yes. Undergrowth is my polar opposite. So every ability I have, he has the opposite." I looked at Clockwork. "Right?"

Clockwork nodded. "You're getting it, Daniel."

"Clockwork?" Skulker peered around my shoulder. He bowed deeply, and Aragon did the same. "I am humbled by your presence! I meant no disrespect by not acknowledging you."

I face palmed. "Do they all do that?" I asked Clockwork.

"Yes. It's centuries old." Clockwork explained. "From the time the observant ruled."

"They need to stop." I grumbled. "I hate people bowing to me, don't you?"

"I think it's quite funny. You see, when they bow sometimes I trip them but I pause time so they think they fell." He snickered.

My mouth gaped open. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Yes. When you've lived as long as I have, you take your humor where you get it."

"O-okay. So, here's the plan, gather around!" I looked at the group and they all turned to look at me. "I'll lead a team into the Human World to close the portal on that side; Father, Sam, Nocturn will come with me there. Skulker, you'll lead the assault on this side. You, Clockwork, Sojourn and my army will battle the forces here since they'll be the strongest. Aragon and his army will catch any stragglers they find. Frostbite, your army will protect the ghosts left here. I'll meet back up with everyone after the portal is closed in the Human World."

"I'm coming with you." Aragon states.

"You're needed here." I frowned.

"My army will listen to your command, however, I wish to exterminate Freakshow and his minions." He cracked his knuckles threateningly, a sly smile on his face.

I sighed. "I know you have a vendetta against Freakshow, but he can be dealt with after we force Undergrowth back."

"I don't care. I'm coming with you." He hissed.

"Fine, whatever." I rolled my eyes. "Everyone clear with the plan?" They all nodded. "Okay. Let's go." I visualized the human world and waved my hand. At once, a portal opened. I stepped through the portal, and one by one they followed behind me. I closed the portal behind Aragon. The sky was dark, but it didn't feel like night, and all the light seemed to disappear into the sky.

"They're close." Nocturn spoke.

"They haven't broken through yet." Aragon agreed. "Daniel, what should we do now?"

I frowned. "They'll know we're here, they'll be able to sense us. We need to limit human casualty."

"Who cares about humans?" Aragon asked. "They've never done anything for us."

"My parents are human!" Sam stated.

"Daniel's right, we can't harm the humans." Father states, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Fine. Save the humans." Aragon grunted, but he didn't look happy about it.

I frowned, looking at the sky. It was hard to tell where they were going to break through at. We couldn't shove them back unless they broke through. We'd have to wait it out.

"I have a sneaky idea." Father smiled, closing his eyes. At once, I could see shadows expanding from his body, slinking across the ground, away from us. I opened my mouth to speak, but he shushed me. Doors opened everywhere and humans stepped out of their homes, their eyes glazed over. One by one, they marched out of town.

"Huh. Good plan, Father." I replied.

"Isn't it? Don't have to worry about casualties if there aren't any humans." He responded.

"What about Freakshow? We should stop him before the Hellborn break through." Aragon asked.

"You have a point." I said slowly.

"We can't be divided." Nocturn shook his head. "We need to have everyone here for the attack."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I came to you, then!" A voice came from behind us.

Mother.

I turned around slowly, my blood turning to ice. Mother stood there, looking the same as she always has, except she looked more sinister. Her aura wasn't as bright, and her green eyes had no warmth in them. Her hands sparked with red energy. Danielle stood behind her, her expression unreadable. Mother looked like she was enjoying herself too much.

"Stephanie!" Aragon called. "It's me, your brother, Aragon!" He walked forward, as if in a trance. "Don't you remember?"

Mother smiled wickedly. "Of course, brother." She blasted him in the chest with an ecto ray. "I remember how you abandoned me…" She trailed off, her voice full of mirth.

Aragon groaned. "Steph, I'm sorry, I—"

"Don't waste your breath!" I helped Aragon to his feet. "That is not her. It's only a shell."

"What happened to her?" He asked.

"Her ghost half overwhelmed her ghost half and killed her human side. Her soul is trapped within her body; we have to set her free." I bit my lip uneasily. How could I casually talk about killing my mother?

"I understand." His red eyes narrowed. A look of determination overcame his features.

"It's my responsibility." Father stood by my shoulder.

"No. It's mine." Aragon sighed. "I should've never cast her out for marrying you."

"Harsh." I laughed quietly.

Father shot me a look. "How about we agree it's both of our faults?"

"Aw, how touching." Mother grinned, her fangs showing through her lips. They looked like sharpened daggers. I couldn't even imagine those ripping through my throat—

"Daniel." Father said suddenly.

"Y-yeah?" I stuttered. "What's up?"

"I need you to keep Danielle distracted." He looked over at the second woman, who was engaging in a conversation with Sam. Based on her expression, it wasn't a friendly one.

"Uh, alright." I teleported behind Danielle and Sam.

"-Pathetic excuse for a sister if you ask me!" Sam was saying as she blasted Danielle.

"Sister?" I asked.

"Dan! Don't sneak up on me like that! Not with _her_ here!" Sam yelled over the noise of the fight.

"Aw, are you embarrassed about your big sister?" Danielle chided.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"What does it look like?!" Sam asked. "I'm just fighting my long-lost sister, nothing big!"

My mouth was gaping open, and I quickly closed it. This day just got weirder and weirder. "Okay." I waved my hand, trapping Danielle in a safety bubble. "Why are you still serving Freakshow? We destroyed his staff."

"You are mistaken, Daniel Plasmius. The staff lives." Danielle smiled, her green eyes wide. Her long white hair fell over her shoulders.

"What?" I asked. "That's not possible."

"I can do a lot of things that should not be possible." Her hands glowed with green energy, and in an instant the safety bubble melted, she leaped forward jumping on top of Sam, her claws extended. I gasped from shock, and Sam gasped from pain. Danielle's claws were imbedded deep into Sam's shoulder, with green ectoplasm oozing from the wound. Her other hand raised towards Sam's face.

An overwhelming amount of emotion poured through my veins. Almost in a haze, I ran forward, with my owl claws outstretched. My hand drove straight through her chest, and when I pulled my hand out, I had a beating core in my hand. I looked at it in horror.

Danielle gasped for breath. Her chest bled wildly. Two black rings formed at her waist, and she shifted back to her human form. She looked at me with malice in her eyes. She had deep baby blue eyes and long, dark black hair. Her hands grasped her chest, which changed to a steady blood flow." You will regret this day." She hissed, collapsing onto the ground, not moving anymore.

"Daniel…" Sam gasped. "You…"

"Don't." I felt disgusted with myself. "I wasn't trying to… I didn't mean to…"

She threw her arms around me. "You saved me again." She whispered.

"I killed her." I whispered.

"Sometimes evil has to end." She spoke.

"I'm a murderer!" My voice was small.

"It'll be okay, Daniel." She rubbed my back. "You did it to save me."

"Still, my soul will be tainted." I sighed. "I didn't even think—I just reacted."

"Your soul taints?" She asked. "What does that mean?"

"When you kill someone, you loose a part of yourself. The more you kill, the more you loose. Makes it easy for your ghost side to take control." I said slowly.

She nodded. "I understand." She looked down at the body. "I wonder if they saw you do that…?"

I looked over at the others. Aragon and Father were fighting Mother, and Nocturn and Frostbite's army was overseeing the human evacuation. I didn't think they had seen it.

The ground rumbled as if there was an earthquake. There was a huge roar as the army broke through. I had only really seen the army's leader, Undergrowth, and their huge beast, I hadn't really seen the Hellborn army. They looked like miniature versions of Undergrowth—but the similarities stopped there. They had horns on the top of their heads that curved upwards with green spikes up and down the horns. The more I looked at them the more I felt drained, as if looking at them took my energy. The more I watched, the more came out of the sky.

"Um… That's a lot." Sam says weakly.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"How do we take them out?" She asked.

"Duh, blast them!" I rolled my eyes. My hands charged with gold energy, and one by one I blasted the Hellborn army. They dropped like flies from my gold energy. The others weren't having such good luck. Nocturn and Frostbite's army was now fighting the Hellborn army.

I blasted minion after minion, and after a while we were able to get the upper hand and defeat the army. I could see Undergrowth hiding in the clouds.

"It's over, Undergrowth!" I called. "Your army has been defeated! Bow down to us and surrender peacefully!"

"Never!" Undergrowth hissed.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!" I tapped the top of my staff, and it glowed with gold energy. I raised my arms out and a gold shield formed around my body, lifting me into the clouds.

"No!" Undergrowth yelled.

"Now, Sojourn!" I yelled.

At once, I could see the other side of the portal glow brighter. My body glowed with gold power, and I channeled it out of my hands, throwing it at Undergrowth. He screamed, and I heard a loud bang. I felt as if I were being sucked into a tornado, and I knew that it was the other dimension trying to suck in Undergrowth. I gritted my teeth and grabbed onto the nearest building. I was able to catch myself in time, and I looked back over to the sky.

" _Daniel, on my mark, you need to fly into the rip and pull the fabric of space-time closed!"_ Sojourn's voice came through my staff.

"What?! How do I do that?" I yelled over the roar of the wind.

" _Visualize the fabric of time and grab it in your hands. Do it now!"_

Using the building, I propelled myself into the air. I blinked my eyes, and suddenly I could see the underlining fabric of time. I reached out with my hands and grasped it. It felt like cool satin, and I suddenly understood what he wanted me to do. My hands glowed with gold energy, and I pushed the two ends together. The sky mended in an instant, and the wind stopped. Light emerged back as if nothing had happened.

I floated back down towards the ground, my cape swirling around me as I did so. I felt a smile creep onto my face.

It was over.


	32. Aftermath

I looked up at the sky. The sky had returned to it's normal blue color, and birds were chirping, all seemed fine. I'm not sure if it was the Godly side of me, but I could still sense an imbalance. Almost as if it was… calling me. But that was ridiculous, right?

"We did it, Daniel!" Sam threw her arms around me, her gray hair smacking me in the face.

I laughed, throwing my arms around her. I tried to clear my unease—or mask it, even—and I hoped I'd succeeded. "Yeah, it's over." I smiled.

She leaned forward, kissing me. After a moment she pulled away, blushing. Her red eyes were full of love, which I could stare at all day.

"Maybe now we can get some peace, huh?" Father laughed, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Peace in this family? Not likely." I frowned. "We're never that lucky."

"You're ruining the moment, Daniel." Father sighed.

"Father, we have to be prepared for whatever curveball life's going to throw at us next."

"Like what?" He scoffed. "It can't get much worse than it already has."

"You'd be surprised." Aragon spoke, walking over to us. "We still have unfinished matters at hand."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Like Stephanie, Danielle, and Freakshow." Aragon sighed.

"Uh, well, Danielle won't be any trouble." I laughed nervously.

Father raised his eyebrows. "Daniel, what did you do?"

"It was an accident, I swear!" I yelled, emotion pouring through my voice.

Father's expression changed to one of understanding. "Oh, Daniel, things like that are always hard." He held his arms open, and I ran into them, nestling my head in his shoulder.

"It just kind of… happened." I sniffed.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't blame you, Daniel." Sam rubbed my back.

"Even if she was evil, she didn't deserve to die." I spoke solemnly.

"Like I said earlier, Dan, sometimes evil must be stopped." She grinned weakly.

I sighed. "No matter how evil, nobody deserves to die."

"Besides Freakshow." Aragon laughed evilly. "He's going to die, and he will suffer."

"That's harsh, Aragon. I'm sure if you stopped to think about your decision—" Father started, but was cut off.

"No, Vladimir, think about it! He was involved with your wife's—my sister—downfall. Then, he kidnaps me, and corrupts me! Then he kidnaps you, corrupts you then your _son._ Why shouldn't he be stopped? If left unchecked, he could destroy the Ghost World as we know it!" Aragon yelled. "Even now, I still feel his corruption on you."

"What?" Father paled. "What are you talking about?"

"The staff. I can feel it's pull on you. As if you're still under it's control." Aragon frowned.

"That's not possible! We destroyed it!" Sam spoke, scoffing.

"No, it is possible, female. Energy like that can't disappear." He looked Father up and down.

"Of course!" Father snapped his fingers.

"Could that be why you've been weird lately?" I asked him. "You've just felt… off."

"What do you mean by that, Daniel?" Father asked.

"Well, ever since the thing with Cujo, the ghost dog." I spoke slowly, picking my words carefully. "It wasn't like you to not try and befriend the dog. You hid from it."

"The beat tried to attack me! What do you expect?" He scoffed.

"Ghost dog?" Aragon asked. "When was this?"

"Uh…" I thought back. "A few days ago, why?"

"Well, ghost dogs have a sixth sense, you know. They can sniff out powerful ghosts. Or if your father's case, imbalances." Aragon smiled.

"What does this have to do with me being 'off', Daniel?" Father sighed. "I guess I just don't see your point here."

"What if when the energy broke, it's energy went into you?" I asked him.

"Well, it would make sense." Father spoke slowly. "But I feel fine."

"Well of course you would." Aragon laughed. "I still can sense the staff's pull on you, but I think it's getting weaker. You're probably fighting it and don't even realize."

"Most relics like that loose most of their power on their destruction." I spoke.

"But a powerful relic like that would go _somewhere._ " Aragon agreed.

"Yeah, and Vladimir was close to Freakshow when I destroyed it." Sam snapped her fingers.

"So how do we fix it?" Father asked.

"Well, only Daniel would have the power to do anything, really." Aragon sighed. "But it's a painful process."

"Just tell me what to do, Aragon. I can't risk loosing him."

"Alright, alright. Why does your mind always jump to loosing your father?" Aragon asked.

"Uh, well, I haven't had the best life and I just assume that everyone around me dies and I can't stop any of it." I frowned.

"I guess I can understand that." Father wrapped his arms around me again. "I'm not going anywhere ever again."

"Tell me what to do." I repeated again.

Aragon sighed. "Alright. But first I'll have to get something to contain it. Wait here." He pressed his amulet, and in a sharp ray of light, he was gone.

"Okay, since when can he teleport?" Sam asked. "Can everyone do that?"

"Pretty much everyone except you, Samantha." Father chuckled.

"Can you show me when all of this is over?" She asked him, her red eyes wide.

"No." Father stated with no hesitation.

"Why not?" She groaned. "Daniel won't do it, now you?"

I looked at Father. "Yeah, father, why not? I mean, after this our scheduling will be preeety empty."

Father looked between the two of us and put his hand on his face, sliding it down slowly. "Fine. You two are the bane of my existence."

I shrugged. "I blame you. I'm your mini-me, after all."

"You are not my mini-me, you are your own being." He stated.

"You two are very alike." Sam held up her fingers. "Very strict, very well trained, smart, and good doing what you do."

I chuckled. "Someday you'll be just like us."

"Oh dear lord." Father paled. "Please no. Not another."

"What?" I said.

"I can't handle another Daniel in my house. One is enough."

"Har har." I rolled my eyes. Movement in the background caught my attention. My hand lit up with gold energy, but I quickly let it dissipate. I walked past Father and Sam. A wisp of black hair caught my eye, and I bent down to the ground. I looked at Aragon, who was already here.

"Is she…?" I asked, letting my eyes travel back to the body on the ground.

"I'm afraid so." Aragon sighed.

Mother was laying on the ground, her green eyes wide. She had a face of shock, which was perfectly etched.

I sighed, reaching forward and closing her eyes. "I wonder how it happened."

"There's no telling, Daniel, but at least she can be finally free."

I nodded solemnly. "I hope she found peace."

We both got back to our feet, walking back to the group. I turned to Aragon. "What were you looking for anyway?"

"A vial, something to contain the relic's power." Aragon responded simply.

"So what do I need to do?" I asked.

"Basically just reach your hand in his chest and pull out the remnants. You can feel the pull of it."

"How do I like, you know, not pull out something else instead?" I frowned.

"Turn your hand intangible and feel around. I'm sure you'll find it." He tossed me the vial, and I just barely caught it before it hit the ground.

"Not funny, Aragon!" I hissed.

"Maybe not to you." He laughed.

"Do you think this is a joke?"

"Well, of course not, but it's been a long day and I need humor somewhere." He grinned. "Besides, I need to get to know my nephew."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah you can meet me from the end of my foot." I muttered.

"I heard that!" He called.

"Maybe I meant you to." I shrugged. I looked at the vial in my hand. It was small, almost indistinguishable from anything else you could find laying around.

We joined Father and Sam, and Father looked at the vial in my hand and understood. He nodded to me, and unfolded his arms. I turned my hand intangible, reaching into his chest. I could feel his core, but there was a underlying feeling under it. I heard Father gasp, but I shushed him. A red swirl of energy coiled around my fingers, and I pulled my hand out, dripping the energy into the vial. I swished it around.

"It looks like blood." Sam stated.

"Sparkly blood." I agreed. The vial was now red, but it was glowing. "Will that return him to normal?"

Aragon nodded.

"Good." I smiled. "We don't need any worse decisions."

"What do we do now, Dan?" Sam asked.

"Let's go back to the Ghost World and meet up with the rest of the group. We'll go from there." I slipped the vial into my pocket. "Father, can you put the citizens back into their homes?"

"On it." Father mumbled. He looked a little dazed, but right on cue the humans marched single file back into their homes.

I waved my hand, and one by one we filed into the portal. I was relieved that upon returning, the sky was a nice, bright green. It had seemed that everything returned to normal in both worlds.

So why did it feel like we were forgetting something?

I shook my head, sighing. There wasn't anything I could've forgotten yet. I knew we still needed to deal with Freakshow, but beyond that there wasn't anything else.

I let my eyes wander to the castle. The Ghost Kingdom's castle was a normally mighty sight, but it looked sad and depressing. The roof was caved in, and the entire let side of the building was rubble. The red color of the castle was splattered green.

"This is just… depressing." I stated slowly.

"I agree." Father spoke quietly.

"It's much worse now that we can see it." Sam agreed.

"Is it even fixable?" I asked Father.

"I'm not sure. It might be better just to knock the thing down. I've never liked this castle anyway." He spoke.

"Mine's better." Aragon snickered.

"In your dreams!" Father chuckled.

"Okay, both your castles suck. There, debate ended." Sam shrugged, walking forward.

I shrugged, following her, lacing my fingers through hers. As we got closer, I could see that most of the damage to the castle seemed to be fixable. It would probably take time, but it could work. As we passed through the doors, the furniture was toppled over and dusty, but maid ghosts were currently cleaning the palace. We continued on to where the throne room was beyond the stairs.

"Daniel, my boy!" A loud, booming voice echoed.

I started a bit, but settled back down when I just saw it was King Pariah—my grandfather. I smiled. "My King."

"Psh, no need for titles, my boy. You've done well." Pariah put his hand on my shoulder. "The Ghost world owes you and your friends a great debt." He smiled, his green eyes sparkling kindly.

"We just did our duty to our Kingdom." I stated. "Nobody else would've done anything differently."

"Maybe so, but I still have something to say." Pariah got down on one knee. "I crown thee, King Daniel."

"WHAT?" I gasped. "No, no, it's supposed to be Skulker, not me!"

"You are a God, my child. You are also the savior of the Ghost world, we would be honored to follow in your footsteps. Besides, this was Skulker's idea in the first place." Pariah smiled.

"I… can't." I sighed. "Grandfather, with all due respect, I'm not fit to be a King. Sure, I'm a natural leader and fighter, but I don't think I could be King."

He smiled kindly. "Of course, I will respect your decision. I won't force you to choose a role you don't want."

"Thank you." I smiled. "I think Skulker will make a great King."

"I do as well." Pariah agreed. "I tried to talk him out of making you King. With everything that happened, he thought you deserved the role better."

"I'm honored. Really. I'm just too young." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

Pariah laughed. "I'm sure we'll find a role for you somewhere, Daniel. You have the rest of eternity to think about your career, after all."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Not a problem! You ever need me; you know where to find me." He patted my shoulder, and went to chat with the rest of the group.

I looked at Sam. I let out a breath of air that I didn't know I was holding.

"Turning down King? Are you sure?" She asked quietly.

"Sam, I was never meant to rule. After all this, that's the one thing I'm sure of." I smiled, my eyes on the group in front of us. "I'm sure I'll find something."

"Did you ever choose if you wanted to live here permentely or not?" She asked nervously.

I gave her a sly look. "Why, would you miss me?"

"Yes. Not going to deny it. But Daniel, after everything that happened I just want you to be happy." She rested her hand on my cheek. "You deserve happiness."

"Sam, you deserve happiness too. I promise after we go home, everything will be okay."

"You mean everything will get boring." She snickered.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, frowning.

"This was the most fun I've had in ages!" She laughed. "I mean war is a terrible thing don't get me wrong, but it's not boring."

"I suppose. But I need some peace and quiet." I sighed.

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. "A human vacation, more like."

"Where would you want to go? I know Father would let me go anywhere as long as I take a ghostly guard with me."

"Your father let you go anywhere alone?" She scoffed. "Not likely."

"You're ruining the moment."

"What? I'm just being honest!" She laughed, putting her hands up in defeat.

"Sure." I rolled my eyes. "I don't think we'll be here much longer."

"Good. I'm sure after that my parents are probably going nuts."

"Your mom most likely."

"Yeah. Probably."

I looked over at the group again. I could hear them exchanging news, fatalities of the war, et cetera. It seemed like quite a few ghosts had perished in the war. I guess the hellborn's powers were able to kill ghosts after all.

"Does it feel weird to you?" She asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I feel like we won too easy." She bit her lip.

"To be honest, so do I."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's weird. I had this like, urge, I guess, to do something after Undergrowth was pushed back. I can't really describe it." I frowned.

"I think you need to talk to Clockwork and Sojourn. Maybe they can explain it to you." She spoke after a silence.

"Probably." I leaned forward, kissing her cheek. "Cover for me?"

"Alright. But you better be home soon! I want you home by 10." She laughed.

"Okay fine." I laughed also. "Ten it is."

"But seriously, be careful. Please." She grabbed my hand.

I kissed her hand slowly. "I promise."

"Okay." She smiled lightly.

I waved my hand and disappeared through the portal.


	33. Betrayal

The Ghost World looked like it always did. Sunny green skies, light atmosphere, but it felt… off. As if something was hiding. Of course, I was probably overthinking things again. I flew up to Clockwork's tower. The building ticked like a time bomb, but it was a normal sound to hear. The clocks all around the building were synced with different time zones from around the Human World.

"Clockwork? Sojourn?" I called out.

No response.

I bit my lip. Neither of them would intentionally ignore me like this. I pushed down my growing unease and decided to look manually. I turned intangible, sliding through several of the floors, poking my head through each room. I didn't even feel any other presences here. I guess I was truly alone. Where else would they be? I racked my brain, trying to think of where the battle took place.

The castle! How could I be so dumb? I waved my hand, creating another portal. I flew through it, appearing instantly at the castle. It was still in ruins, but I didn't expect it to be fixed right away. Ghostly servants floated through the castle, fixing the inside. I waved at a few of them as I passed, but I still didn't see Sojourn or Clockwork.

"Daniel?" A voice spoke.

I turned. Queen Desiree floated behind me. Her usual long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was dressed in armor. Her red eyes were dark.

"Hello, Queen Desiree," I spoke, bowing before standing back up.

"What brings you here, Daniel?" She asked. Her voice was smooth, like honey.

"I'm searching for Clockwork and Sojourn," I responded casually. "I needed to have a word with them about what happened, but for some reason I can't seem to find either of them."

"Hmm." She pursed her lips. "I haven't seen them either. I didn't think anything odd of it until you mentioned it."

I frowned. "They can't just disappear, can they?"

"Daniel, you of all ghosts should know that Gods can do whatever they want. Even me as Queen, I have less power than a single god. However, Sojourn did mention something about 'loose ends', but he didn't elaborate."

I scowled. I was starting to like Sojourn less and less. I could never get a good reading on the dude, but this was ridiculous. "I guess our talk can wait. Is there anything I can do to help cleanup?"

She laughed. "Daniel, cleanup is below your pay grade, I think. Come with me, my boy, and we'll find something suitable for your position."

 _Below my pay grade?_ I thought to myself. I remembered how Father had said that ghosts would treat me differently now. I sighed. "Queen Desiree, with all due respect," I started slowly. "I don't need to do the most lucrative things because I'm a God now. I'm fine with doing anything that needs to be done."

Desiree studied me for a long moment. Her expression was unreadable, but I thought I saw the beginnings of a smile for a quick second. Instead, she did something that surprised me more. She grabbed my shoulder gently, and led me into the throne room, but it was empty. "Daniel, for many eons, Gods have always been mysterious to us."

I nodded. "Father mentioned something like that to me once."

She nodded. "However, I'm sure Pariah has shown you this already, but the Gods do sometimes leave us specific instructions for events."

"Uh, he showed me that prophecy book, but he didn't mention anything about instructions." I thought back to our encounter. Everything back then had been so rushed, that it was almost impossible to remember everything that had happened.

"The 'prophecy book' is not the only thing we keep. Some things we have date back millennia." She led me behind the thrones, where the wall was blank. She pressed her hand to the wall, and it opened with a silent hiss. There was a set of spiral stairs, and we descended down the steps. There were a lot of cobwebs, and a heavy layer of dust settling on everything. It looked like a stone room, perhaps about the size of my bedroom. It was surprisingly light in here, even though there were no windows. But there was something else. I concentrated, and I could feel the Time Stream more clearly than ever before. I suddenly knew why the Gods had picked this room. It was a direct timeline to the Time Stream so strong that I had no doubt in my mind that Desiree could feel the pull too.

"I do have a question though." I looked at Desiree. "When you say Gods, as in plural, I always assumed that it was just referring to Clockwork and Sojourn. But... is there more than them?"

Desiree was silent for a second as she thought. "Well, Clockwork has always been very thorough in the protection of time. But I think that there used to be more. There's an old legend that goes like this; the All Mother created the Ghost World, then her children took over her reign after millennia. There were three brothers: one for time, one for family and protection, and the last for peace. Over time, one of the brothers became poisoned by greed and hate, and was sealed away. A council of the eldest ghosts was created, and they decreed that the Gods were no longer fit to rule. They elected the first Ghost King, and created for him his symbols of power. His crown, so that he would be known as the King, and his ring for protection. Together, this made the King unstoppable."

I nodded. Most of this I already knew of course, but it pieced together in my mind.

"Over time, the Gods became less and less active. After the first Ghost War with the fall of the youngest God, they basically sealed themselves off, and nobody's heard from them since. The only thing we remembered about them was their Godly glow, and their auras of pure power. Most ghosts treated them as myths, but royalty knew better. We always knew they never faded. Perhaps they knew to withdraw after the aftermath, but we always knew they were there, still watching us." She sighed, as if the story was troubling.

"The first Ghost War? You mean when Undergrowth burst through and took Sojourn as prisoner?"

"Yes." She responded. "But we always assumed he had died. Now that he was back we weren't sure what to think. That first war almost ripped time apart."

"How?" I asked.

"The first war lasted almost 11,000 years. It was a long time for ghost kind." She responded sadly, her fingers cascading down the first bookshelf.

The bookshelf went to the ceiling, and I counted about ten shelves on it. Behind the bookcase there several more behind it. On the right side of the room were smaller bookshelves, with contraptions sitting on them. Some things were things such as broken swords or shields, but some were more complicated. I picked up one of the contraptions. It was about the size of a cue ball, smooth and cold. It was made of a light metal I couldn't identify. On a hunch, I slipped it into my pocket.

"I get that the war lasted a long time." I spoke slowly, finding each and every word. "Did he basically do the same thing he did now? Why is he so intent on destroying us?"

"That I'm not sure." She said after a silence. "The first war was the bloodiest we've ever seen, even our civil wars did nothing to compare to that one."

I stayed silent, thinking about her words. I couldn't imagine being at war for so long. Even though this happened a long time ago, it still gave me chills. "And it ended when Sojourn was taken, right?"

"I assume so." She frowned.

"Is it me, or did we win too easy?" I asked. "Don't get me wrong, but something's—"

"Wrong." We both spoke at the same time.

"It didn't occur to me until you said it." Her eyes narrowed. "Come, we must find King Pariah and—"

Her words were cut off by a huge explosion. It sounded unlike anything I had ever felt before. The castle's walls started to crack, then they started to collapse. My staff appeared in my hand, and I paused time. I let out a breath, and grabbed Desiree around by her hand, turning intangible and flying up the stairs. When we got back to the top of the stairs, I didn't unfreeze time until we were safely outside.

"The castle!" Desiree gasped. "EVACUATE!" She yelled, her voice carrying through the yard. Ghosts seemed to appear from nowhere, eventually after what seemed like forever, everyone was out of the castle. At that specific moment, The castle seemed to be eaten by the ground, and it was gone.

My mouth was gaping open. "What the hell?!" I floated over to where the castle used to be, and looked down. The castle laid in rubble, until the shaking subsided. Then all I stared at was a huge, gaping hole in the ground.

"What happened?" Desiree asked a nearby guard.

"We're not sure, Queen Desiree." The guard responded. "I was helping with the cleanup and the next thing I know the castle started to collapse!"

I floated towards the ground, my fingers touching the dirt. I tried to feel for shrapnel from a bomb, but I couldn't find any. I frowned. I could still see the Time Stream, but it's connection seemed weak… distant. Whatever had destroyed the castle had an effect on Time, too. I couldn't help but wonder if someone had targeted the castle simply because Desiree and I were underground, looking at an abandoned room that hadn't been touched in millennia.

I stood up straight, and turned around to the crowd. I didn't say anything, but I caught Desiree's eye. She gave me a look, as if asking _what do you see?_ But I just shook my head sadly. I still had a handful of the dirt, and I got an idea. Father's lab could analyze things... maybe I could find something from this dirt. With a bright flash I teleported, but I went to Skulker's house. I went intangible, flying into the lab without a word to anyone. I opened up my hand, dropping the dirt into a microscope, looking at it closer. Aside from the fact that it glowed, it didn't look any different than it should. Frustrated, I flung the dirt onto the floor—along with the microscope.

"Trying to kill my microscope?" Skulker asked.

"Yes." I responded. I suspected he might be home by now, so his presence didn't scare me.

"What did it ever do to you?" He asked.

"It didn't tell me who attacked the castle." I sighed, turning to him. "Skulker… the castle is completely destroyed."

"How?" He asked, his voice hard.

"Not sure. It was like a bomb went off. But there's no shrapnel. Nothing to suggest why the castle blew up. Not even a burn mark from using an ecto ray." I ran my fingers through my white hair, not even caring I made it dirty. "Everything is going wrong and I can't even stop it!"

"You know what this means, right?" He asked, his hands crossing his chest.

"Whoever did this is powerful?" I responded.

"Obviously. But they're powerful like a _god._ Only a god would be able to not leave a trace." He raised his eyebrow.

"Are… are you accusing me of blowing up the castle?!" My mouth gaped open. "I would never!"

"Not you, kid. The only other gods would be Clockwork and his brother." He shook his head. "I know you wouldn't do it, short stack."

 _Sojourn! That filthy traitor blew up the castle! But why? Was it simply to stop me from reading something, or was it an attempt to try and kill me?_ "It had to have been Sojourn. Perhaps what he saw in the Unworld really changed him."

"Perhaps." He mused.

"But how do we even get him? I don't have any way to contact him." I looked back at Skulker. He had a slight smile on his face. I realized with a jolt that he was testing me. "Of course!" I smacked myself in the forehead. "All I need to do is teleport to his location."

"Good job, my boy." He clasped my shoulder. "Go make the Ghost World proud."

"Can't you come?" I asked. "I could use your help."

Skulker shook his head sadly. "It's not any place for someone like me."

A _normal_ ghost. I sighed. "Alright. But if you see Father can you tell him what's going on?"

"We both know that the first thing he would do after hearing that would to rush to your aid. No, you can tell him after it's over."

"But what happens if I die?"

"You're not going to die, kid! Just keep your head and stay focused and I'm sure you'll be fine. I've already seen you do amazing things." He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. "I have faith in you. Do you?"

I opened my mouth and closed it. The easy answer was to say no, but the truth was yes. The more I learned about my powers, the more I chose to believe in myself. This wasn't the time to have doubts or fear; all I had to do was act. I smiled. "Thanks, uncle Skulker."

"What're you thanking me for? I didn't even give you a pep talk, you figured it out on your own."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit." My smile grew.

"Ah, now we're getting into actually having feelings, huh?" He stroked his chin. "Nah, I don't have feelings. I'm a man."

"Mhm, sure you don't." I rolled my eyes. "Go and kiss your wife and son."

"I will literally end you right here." Skulker warned.

"No you wouldn't." I laughed. I started up the stairs, but hesitated. "Why're you home so soon anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just needed something from the lab. I thought I had something here but it's not." He answered, distracted. "I can't even think about what it was now."

"Whatever." I flew up the stairs and out of the house. If I was an evil God bent on seeking revenge, where would I go? I thought about Clockwork's tower, but I already knew they weren't there. I hadn't really had enough training to know where Gods hide.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't see the attack until it was already hitting me. The ecto ray hit me in the back, spinning me in the air. I had a hazy glimpse of a whit aura before sinking into unconsciousness.


	34. Pebara

When I woke up, I noticed I was in a cage. I tried to move my hand, but it was shackled to the bottom of the cage. As I blinked the weariness from my eyes, I had time to get a good look at my cage. It was about eight feet tall, made of a dark colored metal. My back hurt something terrible from laying on the ground and after a solid minute or two I wrestled myself into a sitting position, the chains clacking loudly as I moved. Whoever had attacked me had chained both of my hands and both of my ankles. I tried to light my hand up with ecto energy to shine some light, but as soon as the fire created in my palm, I felt a horrible shock go through my body like I was being electrocuted. I hissed in pain, grabbing my wrist. I looked up, and for the first time, I didn't recognize where I was.

It was dark, but you could still see. The ground appeared to be made of molten lava, but there were paths of dark rock through the land. I could see volcanoes erupting in the distance, fresh lava spurting from their peaks. The sky was dark, with red clouds covering the mountain tops. I wasn't sure how I was breathing—this place didn't look like the type of place to have oxygen. I looked at my hands again, starting to wonder if I was in my ghost form. I noticed the glow around my body, but it was weak. As if the cage itself was stealing my power. But that was ridiculous.

Right?

I sighed, getting to my feet. The chains were long enough to let me walk, but the more I paced, the louder they got. After several minutes of pacing, I finally sat back down to give myself some peace from the noise. I leaned my head on my hands and watched boredly as a volcano erupted right in front of me. The lava came down towards my cage and o hoped it would burn the cage and I could escape, but the lava went around my cage as if some magical force field diverted it. I laid on my back again, just staring at the top of the cage. Was this it? Was I just going to sit here forever until I withered away and died? Can Gods even die?

"Daniel." A voice behind me spoke.

I got up so fast I hadn't even had time to process who spoke. When I turned around, I saw a second cage, looking identical to mine. However, the ghost in it was familiar, with light blue skin and a dark purple cloak.

"Clockwork?!" I asked, grabbing the side of my cage. "What are you doing here? You were captured too? How can we escape? Who—" I stopped talking abruptly.

Clockwork held up his hand, and I noticed he was also bound to the cage. I frowned. Clockwork was the most powerful being that I knew. If he was here shackled to a cage then there really was no hope for me. "It was a trap." He spoke sadly.

"What was?" I asked. I couldn't think of any situation that could've been a trap.

"The entire war. It was a ploy. I was a fool, Daniel, and now the Ghost World will pay for my mistake." He sighed.

"How can a war be a trap?" I asked. "A lot of ghosts died for the trap!"

"I know. Sojourn is not who I thought he was. You were right in not trusting him."

I waited for him to tell me what he meant by that, but wither he wouldn't or couldn't. Instead, I sat back down, facing him. His form had seemed to age a hundred years. In the past when I had met him, he always seemed young... in charge. Someone who you could look up to. Now, he looked like a grandfather that needed to be in a retirement home. He had a long white beard that was dirty and unkempt. His face had a lot of wrinkles, and his hands had taken on a gnarled look with long fingernails. His eyes were usually a strong red color, but I could see them glowing gold- a sign his godly powers were in use. He was sill wearing his purple hood, but the hood part was down, and for the first time, I could see that his hair was long, but it was also white, and went down towards the middle of his back.

After a long silence, I spoke. "What's going to happen now?"

"I'm not sure." He answered vaguely. "I'm assuming that at some point Sojourn will turn up, but I haven't seen him once since I've been here."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Since the war. While you were fighting Undergrowth in the Human World, I was in the Ghost World, fighting him there. But it was all a ploy. As soon as my guard was down, Sojourn grabbed me and took me here. I never expected it, so it happened fairly quickly. After that, Undergrowth retreated." He shook his head. "I didn't think he would take you too, but this is my fault to begin with. I'm sorry that I saved your life, Daniel, because now you will help to bring the end of Time."

"Woah woah woah. First off, I'm not helping the apocalypse. Second off, when I find that filthy traitor he's going to with he'd never met me." I balled my fists in anger.

"Daniel, I don't think you can see yourself in any reflection, so I'll just tell you. You probably noticed my appearance. These cages are meant to sap our essence. I have aged a hundred years since I've been here, and just the few hours you've been here has altered your appearance as well." He shook his head. "The more energy they take from us, the faster we age. Whenever we're done being drained we will die. Then they will use our forms to bring the apocalypse."

My mouth gaped open. On instinct I touched my face. I felt a beard on my face, more full than I ever had grown before. I suddenly believed Clockwork's words. These cages were aging us prematurely.

"How long do you have?" I asked him.

"Hard to say. I've been alive for a very long time, so it will probably take longer for my energy to drain versus you, who's only been a God for a few months. I'd say you have less time than I do." He frowned. "I'm so sorry Daniel."

"We need to figure out how to escape before they kill us both." I narrowed my eyes. "Maybe you can teleport us out? Stop time?"

As I watched him, his gold aura glowed brighter than I'd ever seen it before. I closed my eyes as a bright flash came from his cage, but when I opened them, he still sat there, still bound. His appearance seemed to age another ten years. He just shook his head sadly. "There is nothing we can do. This is the end."

"Just because you gave up hope doesn't mean I have!" I got back to my feet and started to pace. I racked my brain for _anything_ to save us, but I came up with nothing. There had to be something I'm missing. Something I'm forgetting.

A memory clicked in my mind from when I had died and Madeline appeared before me.

 _M_ _adeline had started to walk away from me. She turned around, the sun in the background lighting up her black hair. "To give you hope, Daniel. You know now that I watch over you. There is nowhere that you go that you won't hold your connection to me. Remember that when you need it, Daniel."_

When I need it most… This definitely qualified as when I needed her connection. But how would I get in contact with someone who was dead?

I sat back down on the ground, leaning my head back into my hands. I felt like an idiot, but I thought of Madeline. I didn't expect to hear anything back, and I wasn't surprised when nothing happened. I imagined talking to her, asking her for help. Nothing happened.

"Sooner or later you'll accept it, Daniel." Clockwork sighed. "Our time is up."

"I…" Part of me wanted to keep rejecting it. "I guess you're right, Clockwork. Nobody's coming to help us."

"Well, gee, I can't believe we wasted a trip!" A female voice behind me giggled.

I turned my head to look at her. She looked almost human, but with bright pink skin and a mess of dark hair. She was holding a shovel. "Who the hell are you?" I asked her, my voice sounding ruder than I originally intended it to. "I mean, what's your name?"

"Well, my name is—" She made a few noises that sounded like nails on chalkboard. "But most humans call me Pinkie!"

I rubbed my ear. "Well, uh, Pinkie, how are you going to get us out of these cages with a shovel?"

She looked down at the object in her hands. "Oh, it's not a shovel! Silly me!" She laughed again, hitting it on the ground. At once, its form shimmered and changed, turning into a long lightning bolt. "I had to get it through security. Those Drakons are feisty!"

I looked at Clockwork uneasily. "Uh, okay? So, you're here to help us?"

"Sure." She replied casually. "I figured since I had nothing better to do I'd honor her wishes."

I stopped cold. _Honor her wishes?_

"Pinkie! Now!" Another voice called from further off.

Pinkie reached towards my cage with her hand outstretched. I grabbed her hand as it passed right through my cell as if it were made of smoke. I got back to my feet, my chains falling off of my body, and she led me out of my cage. I stretched, cracking several bones. "That's better! Now get Clockwork!"

She nodded and walked over to his cage, pulling him out. His appearance had almost shriveled, and I could smell the stench of death on him. However, he wasn't dead, but he was close. Now I knew why he had given up hope, he could feel death's pull on him. I ran over to him and pulled his arm over my head to support him.

"I thought your kind were myths." Clockwork said quietly.

"Ditto to you, Mr. Clockwork." Pinkie said happily. "Gods have been dormant for many millennia, most of us assumed they'd perished."

I shook my head. "Uh, maybe we should talk about this later? I'm sure they'll know we're gone soon."

"Okay, Mr. Old-fart." Pinkie put her fingers in her mouth, whistling loudly. At once, a carriage appeared from thin air, and she led us onto the back of it. "The back stays open, so hold on you two!"

"What about that other girl?" I asked. "I swore I heard another voice."

"Eh, Sonambula will join us at the rendezvous." She replied casually. She grabbed the reins and slapped them forward. "Giddy up!"

The horses neighed, and we sped off a lot faster than should be possible. I had to grab Clockwork to stop him from falling. The landscape blurred past so fast I couldn't make out much. I heard explosions behind us, but otherwise the ride was pretty smooth. I took the opportunity to talk to Clockwork in ghost speak, hoping the girl wouldn't understand it.

"Clockwork, do you know what's going on?" I asked him.

"I don't know a lot about their kind." He sighed. "The name of their species is the Ovae. I never knew they existed until now."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Quite the opposite actually. They're usually famous for throwing the best parties." He smirked.

I shrugged. Anyone who had the power to pull us from those cages is fine by me. "How long do you think it'll take us to recover?"

"Depends on how much power we can pull from this area." He shrugged. "I'm already feeling better. Those cages are designed to make you go insane, they pull your worst memories and bring them to life."

I sighed. If I had been in there any longer I'd probably have given up hope also. I turned my eyes back to the front, and watched as we touched down on a rocky path, scattered with small bones. Pinkie hopped off the chariot, kicking the skull of what looked like a squirrel with a light whistle. I steadied Clockwork, following Pinkie off of the chariot.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"Now you two get to meet All Mother." She grinned happily, revealing several sharp teeth. "Perhaps she'll let you live… for a price."

"That doesn't sound very happy." I muttered in ghost speak to Clockwork.

Clockwork removed his arm from around my shoulders. He already looked twenty years younger. He radiated confidence as he spoke. "Pinkie, lead the way to the All Mother Gaea. I haven't seen my mother in quite some time."

"Huh?" Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. "Ohh, right. I forgot. Sure! Right this way." She led us up the path, and as we walked closer, a building blinked into existence. It was one story tall, pained almost the same shade as the ground under it. As we walked, I could feel a strong enchantment on the property. If I had to guess it was to keep it hidden from prying eyes. The only question was who were they hiding from?

We walked up the stairs, with our footsteps being the only sound you could hear. The double doors opened, revealing a huge throne room. In the center was a huge 20-foot throne made of solid gold. A woman sat in it, her gold aura giving her off a huge amount of power. She had light blue skin, and long black hair. Her hair was braided in an intricate knot that sat at the back of her head. As we entered, she trained her red eyes on us. Pinkie bowed, then so did Clockwork. I glanced at the two of them and bowed deeply beside Clockwork.

"So," The woman spoke. "After five millennia you return here, my son?" Her voice sounded like sandpaper.

"I seek refuge, All Mother." Clockwork stood.

"And you bring with you another?" She turned to look at me. "What's your name, boy?"

"Daniel Plasmius, your majesty." I spoke loud enough for her to hear me.

"Well, Mr. Plasmius, I welcome you to my kingdom. My son, welcome home." She got up to greet us, and I momentarily freaked out. It was hard not to when you had a 20-foot goddess walking towards you. Instead, to my relief, she shrank to about six feet tall, and embraced Clockwork. "What troubles you, my son?" She looked at Clockwork.

"Sojourn is a traitor to our kind, Mother." He sighed.

"I feared so." She shook her head. "The Ovae plot war against Sojourn and Undergrowth, and I cannot hold them off any longer. Clockwork, Daniel, you must lead the war charge against them."

"I can't fight against Sojourn. Not again." He shook his head.

"Why not?" Gaea's eyes flashed red.

"You know why I cannot, Mother. He fights to the death; I cannot stoop to such a level."

"Hmm, oh well. You will train the Ovae to fight then. Maybe you can get their heads out of the liquor long enough." She smiled lightly.

"An impossible mission." He smirked. "But I figure it's worth a shot."

"Now, I sense Daniel has something to say. What is it, dear?" She turned to me.

I bit my lip. It was like this woman could read my mind. "I'm assuming I can't go home until after we defeat Sojourn."

"Well, you went looking for him to defeat him, yes? After everything is said and done you can leave." She waved her hand. "We have much to talk about, you and I." She put her hand on my shoulder.

"We do?" I asked stupidly.

"Well, of course we do. This will be last chance we have to talk, because the end of the world will come tonight if we don't stop it."

* * *

Ovae (N)-

A species indigenous to the planet Pebara, which dwell mainly in lava, due to intolerance of colder temperatures. They generally throw the most exotic parties in the universe. Appearance wise, they can be any color, height, or personality. They stand on two legs similar to a human, but they have razor sharp teeth and claws, and very bad tempers. Their leader, Sonambula, is thought to be a daughter of Mother Gaea herself, but this claim has since been dismissed as the two only share a close bond.


	35. Update

**A/N:**

 **When i started this story i didn't plan it. When i started to plan the story, my files were corrupted, and i lost interest in it, abandoning it for other stories i started. However, in recent days i started looking over any notes that i did manage to save, and realized that i never planned an ending for this story. If anyone has any ideas for how this story should end let me know and i might incorporate it into the story. Hopefully i'd be able to give an ending for the story within 3 chapters.**

 **Thanks for not hating me**


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